Be There For You
by B13Bren
Summary: Shelby wants to be there for Rachel but doesn't know if Rachel even wants to meet her. Rachel wants her to know that she really needs her to be there for her. Will/Shelby pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: (I'm revising this story but I'm keeping the original AN's because they make me smile. If you read this ages after I wrote it, still feel free to review!) This is my first story ever so I hope you like it. I decided to write it because I love Idina and I feel like there's a lot more to Shelby than we get to see in the show.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee; if I did Idina would sing in every episode.**

* * *

The first time she saw her it was only for a second. She'd been in the hospital for almost 8 hours pushing and sweating. It had been the worst 8 hours of her life, or so she thought then. The worst part actually, was the hours following those. She had seen her daughter, her gorgeous brown eyes and her rosy chicks. She didn't know her name, she didn't want to. But those first hours trying to come to terms with what she had done were horrible. She thought of going back to the Berrys and asking them to give her back. After a while she realized she couldn't do that. She had a contract and besides, without the money they gave her for the baby, she had nothing. So she decided it was for the best. The Berrys could give her the life she couldn't give her, not right now anyway. So she went to New York and tried to make it in Broadway.

She tried her best, she really did. She had the talent, the looks, the voice, but it wasn't enough. They said she lacked passion, fire, theatricality. She knew that wasn't it, she knew what she was missing but she couldn't get it back now. So she went back to Ohio, with her dreams crushed, and started working at Carmel High as the Glee coach. It wasn't her dream job, of course, but she got to do what she loved and being an inspiration for a bunch of teenagers wasn't that bad.

* * *

The second time she saw her, she wasn't prepared. It was their fall invitational and she was greeting some of the guests at the reception when she saw wavy brown hair and those beautiful brown eyes. She knew it was her, who else could she be? She was talking to some dorky looking kid who didn't really seem interested in what she was saying. They came with a larger group of kids and two adults who looked more interested in sharing a sandwich than actually looking after the kids.

They started to walk into the auditorium and she heard a girl call "Rachel, hurry up!" and saw the girl turn and disappear.

_Rachel. That was her name. Rachel Berry, her daughter._ She managed to slip away from the person she was talking to and walked to the registration table. "Who were those kids who just walked in?" she asked the student behind the desk. The girl gave her a look but complied since everyone knew you don't mess with Ms. Corcoran, especially not before a show.

"The McKinley High Glee club" the girl said. She walked away without saying anything. _McKinley High Glee club, of course, her girl was a singer._ She went into the auditorium as they were dimming the lights and stood in a corner. She couldn't see Rachel from where she was standing and the lack of light didn't help, but she knew she was there. It was nice to finally put a name to the face, and a new face now. Over the years, she'd only refer to her as "the baby", only to herself of course, she didn't go around sharing her problems with everyone. But a few years ago, after her fertility problems, she started calling her "my baby". And her baby was sitting somewhere in her auditorium. Granted, she wasn't a baby anymore, but she was still as beautiful as the first time she saw her.

When a loud cheering brought her back from her reverie, she saw the McKinley students get up from the last few rows and exit the auditorium. She couldn't leave now; she had duties as the Glee coach. But every single cell in her body was screaming for her to run after the girl. She controlled her urges and stayed where she was. She'd waited 16 years for this; she could wait a bit longer, at least until she had a plan.

_What am I even going to say to her? Hi, I'm your mom, I'm sorry you've never met me but I was too busy following hopeless dreams?_ Something simpler came to mind. _I signed a contract; I couldn't contact you until you were 18._ But still that wasn't enough because she would have to wait 2 years to tell her that and she couldn't take that. She had to find a way to see her, to explain, maybe even get the chance to be part of her life.

_Would she even want me to be a part of her life? She had parents already. She'd lived 16 years of her life without me, why would she want to meet the woman who practically sold her_? This thought crushed her and so she decided to wait.

* * *

When it was time for sectionals, she had to see her perform. Luckily, Vocal Adrenaline's match wasn't on the same day, and she sneaked in with some of her kids. She kept telling herself, and her students, that they were just there to check out their future competition. She wasn't fooling anyone, everyone new Shelby Corcoran didn't worry about competition. But she needed some excuse to see her little girl in action.

When she came down from behind the audience belting out "Don't Rain on my Parade" with that magnificent voice of hers she almost cried. One of her kids, Jesse, whispered to her "She's good" and of course she was. She was amazing. She was her. At the end of the song she started clapping but stopped herself before she showed too much enthusiasm. Jesse and the others still gave her odd looks, but she didn't care, she was watching her baby sing.

At the end of their performance she almost gave a standing ovation with the rest of the audience. Of course, it was kind of weak and looked a little improvised, but Rachel had been great and it broke her heart not being able to tell her that. She stood up and walked out before they announced the winner, her students following her looking confused.

"That was a waste of our time" she said as soon as they were out in the parking lot. "Whoever wins is not going to be a problem for us at regionals". Everyone agreed and started to walk to their respective cars, including her. When she was opening the door she heard a voice behind her.

"Ms. Corcoran, why did you make us come today? You've never worried about other teams before and you seemed kind of nauseous back there. Is there something you're not telling us?" Jesse said. Shelby looked at the boy. _Should I tell him? Maybe he can help. _And so she told him, everything.

At first Jesse didn't know what to say. _I have to help her._ He looked up to her and seeing her so sad made him want to do anything he could to make it stop. He knew anyone in Vocal Adrenaline would do anything for her. Yes, they kind of feared her but they also loved her. She was strict but understanding and without her they were nothing. He had to do something so he said the only thing that he thought of. "I can befriend her and try to find out if she wants to meet you".

Shelby thought about this. _It seems too easy although it wouldn't be so bad; Jesse can just talk to her and ask her if she wants to meet me. If she doesn't then I don't disrupt her life and I'll try to move on with mine. If she does then I can find a way to get her to contact me so I don't breach my contract. _"OK" she said.

**

* * *

AN: I'd love to hear your comments. It will probably have more chapters but I want to see what you think about this one first.**


	2. Dreams

**AN: Thanks for your reviews! I really appreciate them. This is mostly what happened in "Dream on" though I added and cut a few parts. I wanted to know what you thought of me keeping it like this, completely folowing the show. I'm thinking the next chapter I'm going to do "Theatricality" as it is and start deviating after that one. Anyway I'm open for suggestions, criticism, anything so pleaaaase review, it doesn't have to be all good, I don't mind really. I hope you enjoy this one.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

* * *

Rachel couldn't quite point out how she'd gotten to this place. She took a look around the cluttered basement and sighed, thinking that if someone had asked her yesterday what she was going to do she wouldn't have thought of this.

It started this morning, she and Jesse were talking about dreams and he asked what seemed to be a perfectly innocent question. "When you lie awake at night, what's missing?"

Rachel had always felt there was one thing missing from her life. "My mom" she answered. "Your mom?" _Yes! I finally got what Ms. Corcoran wanted_. "You mean like you wanna meet her?"

Of course she did, she'd always wanted to, but she was afraid. It's not that she wasn't happy with her life but even two dads were sometimes not enough. When she was little and she used to have nightmares and wake up crying, one of her dads would always be there with a glass of water and a hug, but sometimes, when she cried "mommy" they didn't know what to do. Later, she started to think that maybe her mom gave her away because she didn't really want her. Rachel wasn't stupid; her dads probably paid her a lot to have their baby so it was probably just about the money. But something inside her always hoped her mom cared about her.

"I just really like to know who she is, I don't really need to meet her or anything" _although meeting her would be nice_ "but maybe just find out her name or something about her"

Jesse wanted to scream that he knew who she was and that she really wants to meet her but he knew he couldn't, so he just smiled and let her continue. "It's silly, it's not like it's gonna happen or anything because my dads never really told me anything, and I didn't wanna ask them because I didn't want to hurt their feelings"

The only times they actually talked about her was when they discussed how they played classical music to her belly, how they talked to Rachel when she was still inside and how she was smart and beautiful like Rachel. She'd always wondered if maybe she talked to her when she was pregnant too.

Jesse turned and stopped "So let's check it out without them knowing" _That will give me time to talk with Ms. Corcoran_ "Do you wanna know why I came back to this school? To win another national title and to make all your dreams come true. If this is one of them I'm not gonna stop until it happens"

Rachel was afraid, so when Jesse suggested they really look for her, she stalled. When Jesse asked her about it she said she didn't want to know if her mother was a teenager or a skanky girl who would do anything for money. But the real reason was that she was afraid she would meet her mom and she would reject her, afraid she wouldn't be enough for her, afraid she wouldn't love her. Rachel loved her mom, even if she didn't know her, so meeting her at the risk of not being wanted was something she'd always dreaded.

In the end she realized she couldn't put it off anymore so here she was, about to start rummaging through her basement and look for her mom; this time for real.

* * *

"Jesse! What are you doing here?" Shelby looked up from the papers she was grading a little bit surprised. He wasn't supposed to come back until he had something, so maybe he did.

"She wants to know who you are" Jesse said with a huge grin on his face.

"She said that?" She couldn't believe it and didn't really know how Jesse got her to tell him that.

"Yes! She said she wants to know who you are or something about you. Of course I didn't tell her I knew it was you but if you want me I can do that"

"No!" He couldn't just tell her like that, she didn't actually say she wanted to meet her so just coming out and telling her who she was wasn't really an option. _What can I do? How do I tell her who I am and why I did what I did without contacting her directly? I need her to find me because she wants to, not because some stupid kid tells her who I am. Maybe I can give her something, but I don't really have anything that could help her track me down except… _"I've got an idea. Can you come back in an hour, Jesse?" Jesse gave her a look but agreed to come back later.

She got her tape recorder out. She knew the perfect song but it was late and the band kids were gone. She went to the auditorium and sat at the piano. She didn't know how to start. She hit the record button.

"Hi baby, it's your mom. I think this pretty much says it all" and she started singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Mis. By the time she finished the song she was crying uncontrollably. She still had half an hour until Jesse came back so she went to the bathroom to try and put herself back together. She couldn't let him see her like this, even if he was helping her get her baby back.

Jesse came to her office exactly an hour after she'd told him to go. _This is it; if I give it to him I can't take it back._ "Just put the tape with some of her old stuff and act like you found it there. When she listens to it she'll come find me" Jesse didn't know what was in it but he put the tape in his pocket.

"Alright Ms. Corcoran, I'll make sure she gets it. I can come back to Carmel after this, right?" Jesse asked hesitantly.

"Of course Jesse, as soon as she hears the tape you can come back"

* * *

Jesse took the tape out of his pocket and placed it in the box. "What's this? 'From mother to daughter'" he gave it to her.

Rachel looked at the tape "Oh my god she wrote this. She held this in her hand" Jesse took the tape from her and was about to play it when she stopped him. This was all happening too fast and she wasn't ready. She didn't know what was in that tape, _what if it said horrible things? Of course logically, no one would leave a tape for their daughter with horrible things in it, right? Maybe it was a song._ "What if she's singing on the tape? What if she's terrible? Or worse, what if she's better than me?" she couldn't do this, not right now and especially not with Jesse right there. So she threw him out.

He came back of course, he'd talked to Ms. Corcoran and she told him that she had to listen to it. He'd never seen her so sad, so broken, so… not her. So he just walked into her room, put the tape in, pushed play without letting her argue and left.

Rachel watched Jesse's finger push the play button and a song started playing. She heard her voice. That was her mom, calling her baby. She had to sit. She listened to her singing. She had to admit it, she was better than her but she didn't really care about that. It was her mom, singing one of her favorite songs. She felt like she could almost touch her, like she was right there with her. But she wasn't, she didn't really know anything about her really except that she had a wonderful voice. When the tape ended she just stood there crying. She had to find out who she was.


	3. Spying on the Enemy

**AN: So, here's the next chapter. I had two divide it because it got too big. I really hope you like it and I will probably post the next one soon since it's already written, I just have to proofread it and maybe edit a few things.**

**Disclaimer: I hate this! If I owned Glee I wouldn't write here, would I?**

* * *

Chapter 3: Spying on the Enemy

Rachel decided to put off the search for her mom, at least until they were done with regionals. Besides, from the tape she could ascertain that her mom, although she wasn't someone big since she would have recognized her, had an exceptional voice, so there had to be a record of her somewhere. But Glee demanded her whole attention right now so she focused on her singing and checking out the competition, starting with Vocal Adrenaline.

When she found out they were doing Gaga she got worried. Gaga, in her opinion, was the ultimate performer. If Vocal Adrenaline could pull it off, they were doomed. So she decided to sneak into one of their rehearsals with Quinn and Mercedes. Granted, a pregnant girl wasn't the most effective way to go unnoticed but they got parking privileges and Quinn wasn't that bad.

They went into their auditorium at the higher level and sat down. Vocal Adrenaline's costumes were awesome. Their coach was counting while they rehearsed the dance routine. It seemed flawed to say the least so Rachel didn't feel that bad. Suddenly, Ms. Corcoran stopped them, she must have seen it too because she didn't seem happy at all.

"Gosh, she's good" Rachel heard Ms. Corcoran explain what theatricality meant. Mr. Schue never gave speeches like that. His were more of the "you're great no matter what you do" kind. But this, her, was better. Rachel wondered what she could accomplish with someone like Shelby coaching her. Someone driven, strict, someone she could really learn from. She really liked Mr. Schue and he was a great coach for the Glee club, but for her, individually, someone like Shelby would be awesome.

"Funny Girl, E flat" Shelby shooed the kids of the stage.

"Exactly what I would have done, Barbara, I could do it in my sleep" She really was good.

When she started to sing, something clicked inside Rachel's brain. That voice... That was her mom. Shelby Corcoran was her mom, Vocal Adrenaline's coach. The woman she was just thinking could help her become what she always wanted to be was her mom.

She didn't really notice when she got up, she just wanted to get closer to her. She didn't really hear Mercedes' and Quinn's objections when she started to walk away. It was like she was calling to her, like she knew she was in the back of that auditorium and she sang so they would finally meet. She went down and started walking towards the stage.

Shelby hadn't seen her yet; she was really into her performance to notice a girl walking towards the stage. Focused on trying to make her students see what she meant by theatricality. As she was finishing the song, Rachel took a few more steps towards her.

"Ms. Corcoran" Shelby turned to look at the girl. It was her daughter. What was she doing there?

"I'm Rachel Berry" Rachel thought that was kind of stupid, but she didn't know what else to say. "I'm your daughter."

Shelby couldn't think for a while. Suddenly she noticed her Vocal Adrenaline kids start to whisper and she remembered where she was.

"Practice is over, come back tomorrow at 6 am sharp!" she didn't even worry about the looks they were giving her or how she hadn't practically moved from her spot at the center of the stage. The kids walked out and she saw Rachel give a step back. Was she leaving?

"Wait! I'll be right down" She started to walk towards the stairs feeling a little woozy. She didn't expect that the first time she met her daughter she'd have a full audience. Rachel waited for her to get down and sat. Shelby decided she needed some space right now so she sat a row behind her.

They didn't know how to begin. Shelby was trying to figure out how to tell her that she was sorry for letting her go and Rachel's head was full of questions so she just blurted out the first one, knowing that maybe she wouldn't like the answer.

"Did you ever regret it?" Shelby couldn't look at her, she knew that if she did she'd break apart and want to hold her in her arms and cry. So she looked straight towards the stage.

"Yes, then no, then so much" Rachel let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. At least she regretted letting her go.

Shelby couldn't really put into words how much she regretted it. It was the only thing she wished she could take back. If do overs were available she wouldn't care about Broadway or anything else, she would just want her daughter.

Rachel couldn't stop the flow of questions coming from her. She thought that maybe she over did it with the one about not becoming a star, but when Shelby answered, she could see they both shared the same dramatic view of the world. She hadn't turned around to see her, she was afraid that she would lose her nerve and couldn't ask her anything anymore.

Shelby heard what she said about genetics, but she knew that in that whole nurture vs. nature war, nurture almost always won. And she had missed the whole nurture part. "I've missed so much" Shelby didn't even realize she'd said that out loud.

Rachel was confused. What did she mean by that? Had she missed her, missed being in her life? Or was she still talking about not having her dreams come true?

Shelby finally turned to look at her. She looked so small and fragile and yet so grown up. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she was going through right now. She'd never wanted to hurt her; this wasn't how it was supposed to go. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty" Shelby looked at her with a confused look so she explained. Rachel thought that maybe telling her something about her childhood would make them feel closer, but with that Shelby realized that this wasn't right. Rachel had grown into this great person and she hadn't been there for her. She'd been selfish to believe that she could just come back into her life and start being her mom. Rachel didn't need her, she had her dads and Shelby could never get her the way they did. She was a stranger to Rachel and now it was too late to change that. "I shouldn't have done this."

_What! Wait! Where is she going? She couldn't leave her. She had to do something! Say something Rachel! Stop her! Is it my fault she's leaving again?_

Shelby saw Rachel's panicked face and started to explain, well she tried to but everything that came out of her mouth seemed stupid and shallow. Rachel suggested dinner. She looked so hopeful, like she really wanted this to work but Shelby knew it couldn't work. She could never be what she needed her to be. "I'm so sorry Rachel"

She was leaving her again, just like that. Rachel knew that somehow it was her fault. That she had said something or done something that had driven her mom away. She'd said she would call but Rachel new that it was a long shot. It's not like she had her number or anything. So she just sat there for a few more minutes.

Shelby got to her car as fast as she could but when she got in she couldn't decide where to go. She had left her daughter again, only this time she wasn't really sure it was for the best. Maybe they both just needed some time to adjust to the idea of being together. Maybe dinner wasn't such a bad idea. She saw Rachel as she walked out of Carmel. Her hand went to the door handle but stopped when she saw she was crying. She had hurt her. How can she bee so selfish? She needed to get out of Rachel's life before it was too late.

* * *

Rachel didn't know if she should tell her dads about Shelby. She didn't want to hurt their feelings. But as soon as she walked through the door and saw them in the living room she started to cry again. This time harder and she couldn't stop, so she knew she had to give an explanation about it at some point. When she finally calmed down she told them that she had found her mother. She could see they were shocked, but as soon as she said that she would probably never see her again, they relaxed a bit. They still comforted her and tried to make her feel better, they even insisted on moving her therapist to their spare room. They didn't ask how she met her or what she thought about her and she didn't tell them; instead, she asked them to help them with her Glee costume. She didn't really feel like it but she had to distract herself somehow. Besides, she would probably have to deal with a situation at Glee tomorrow since Mercedes and Quinn probably told everyone about Shelby being her mom.

That night, despite everything that had happened, she went to bed with a smile. She knew who her mom was and that she was everything she had dreamed of and more.

**AN2: If you wanna make me really happy press the review button XD... ****Please?**


	4. Help!

**AN: 2 updates in a day! told you it would come soon I just wanted to make sure it was just the way I wanted it. Read the note at the end of the chapter and let me know what you think. ****Hope you enjoy this and I don't own Glee.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Help!

The next day she could barely get out of bed, let alone go to work. But she couldn't stay all day in bed wallowing, so she made it to school after four cups of coffee, two painkillers and a lot of makeup to hide the puffiness in her eyes from crying all night. She could hear people whispering when she walked by, so by now probably the whole school new about what happened with Rachel during yesterday's rehearsal, but she didn't care. Her personal life was nobody's business and she wouldn't let it affect her work. She went through the day in auto pilot. She gave her classes, ate lunch, more classes and then walked to the auditorium for Glee practice. She was sitting at her desk, not really caring about the dance or the complaints of the girls about the underwear. When she felt like they had repeated it enough times she called for a break.

* * *

Rachel new she shouldn't be here. For starters, she was sure Shelby wouldn't like her going into her rehearsals all the time, she was still her competition. And then there was the whole walking away, well more like running away, thing yesterday. She wasn't sure she'd want to see her let alone help her with something. But she needed help and she didn't know who else to ask.

She waited for the Vocal Adrenaline members to leave the stage. "Mom?" It didn't feel weird calling her that. It felt absolutely right and she hoped that she felt the same way about hearing it.

Shelby turned and saw her standing there again. She had called her mom for the first time and it didn't feel as horrible as she thought it would. Maybe she could get used to Rachel calling her mom. She kept surprising her in the middle of rehearsals and, although she knew it was wrong to have her closest competitor there, she didn't really mind. But her students wouldn't like it, and if they lost, they would probably blame her.

"Honey, you gotta stop sneaking in to these rehearsals" There _it is, she doesn't want me here. She called me honey though. Only my dads call me honey. That's a good sign, right? Maybe I'm overanalyzing things. People always tell me I overanalyze things._

"It's kind of important" she opened her coat so Shelby could see her dress.

"Oh dear god!" _What in the world is that? Why is she covered in stuffed animals? Is she supposed to look like someone… something?_

"My dads can't sew. I really need a mom right now. Do you think you can help?"

This was her chance. She had to decide if she was going to be there for Rachel or walk away again. She had hurt her enough and she had convinced herself that leaving her alone was the best thing she could do. She looked at her; she had those puppy dog eyes she knew so well. She looked just like her. She could get away with almost anything with that look. It felt weird seeing it in someone else. It was like looking into her own eyes, begging her for help. How could she say no to that?

"OK but… can you wait in my office until I'm done with rehearsal?" She didn't want to make her wait but she had already ended rehearsal early the day before, she couldn't do it again today.

Rachel smiled. She was going to help her. She went to her office to wait for her. It was big, the walls were lined with trophies and ribbons and pictures of Vocal Adrenaline with her next to them holding one of those trophies. There wasn't anything personal in there. She hadn't really asked her anything about her personal life and there was nothing she could deduce by what was in her office. She sat in her chair. It was really comfortable. It felt weird to be sitting in someone else's chair, even if it was her mom's. There was a calendar on the wall next to her and she saw there was a gold star next to where she wrote Regionals. She smiled and stood up to get a closer look. She reached out and brushed the star with her index finger. Gold stars were Rachel's thing; maybe it was her mom's thing too. She was considering this so she didn't notice when Shelby entered the room.

Shelby stood at the door for a second to look at her. _God, please don't let me screw this up again._

"All ready!" Rachel jumped at the sound of her voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you; although you do owe me a few surprises so maybe we're even now" Rachel just stood there looking at her with that lost doe look on her face.

"We can go to the choir room, there's a sewing machine there I can use" Rachel followed her through the school; it was a lot nicer than McKinley. Shelby stopped at a door and unlocked it. Rachel went in behind her. She could definitely see the difference a larger budget could make. Maybe if they won Regionals principal Figgins would let them get something like this.

"So, what's that supposed to be?" Shelby asked with an amused little smile pointing at her outfit. Rachel suddenly found a flaw in her plan. _The Gaga idea was obtained while spying them, so if she helps me, I'm gonna have to tell her about my little recon missions. But she is my mom, so if I want to make it work I have to be honest, right? That's what relationships are all about, honesty._

"Well… I saw that you were doing Gaga and I might have said something to Mr. Schue and he thought it would be a good idea to try it. I was trying to pull off the Kermit look but I didn't anticipate the complexity of that endeavor until it was too late, and my dads couldn't do anything for me other than this. So I thought maybe you could help me think of a new look and maybe make it for me?" It all came out a bit too fast and Shelby new she was scared she'll be mad for spying on them, but it all seemed quite comical to her. She was going to have to talk to her about that eventually, but it could wait. Right now she needed her and she was going to try her best to help her.

She gave her a smile that she hoped looked encouraging and motioned for her to take off her coat. "Let's see what we can do with this… Well, I don't think there's anything I can do with the stuffed animals so we're gonna have to start all over. I have a look that I think might work for you." With that she disappeared into a closet and came out carrying a bunch of rolls of black and silver fabric and some lace.

"I'm not an expert at this but I think I can whip up something decent for you" Rachel watched her as she took her measurements. She had thought about spending time with her mom a million times; just hanging out, maybe baking cookies. She knew it was cliché, but she couldn't help but feel good about the domesticity of this situation. She didn't want to ruin it by saying something, but there were still so many things she didn't know about her mom.

"So, are you married?" Shelby stopped what she was doing and looked at her.

"No, Vocal Adrenaline has been my life for a long time now, and before that I was trying to make it on Broadway so I never really had time for the whole family thing." _I only have you now._ She stopped herself before she said that, she didn't want to put too much pressure on her.

"You know, Mr. Schue, my Glee coach, is really nice and he's getting a divorce. Maybe you should meet him." Shelby laughed at this._ Is she seriously trying to set me up with Will Schuester?_

"I met him about a month ago. I don't think we could work, Rach." Rachel got a huge smile when she heard her use the diminutive and she couldn't help to smile back.

"All done, try it on and let's see how it fits." Rachel went to change into the bathroom. When she came out she looked amazing in her black dress.

"It's awesome, thanks." She twirled once in front of Shelby.

"Wait, there's something missing" Shelby went back into the closet and Rachel could hear looking for something. After a while she came out holding something in her hands. She slid the sunglasses on Rachel's face. "There, perfect."

"Thank you mom" Rachel hugged her. She didn't really think about doing it, it was an impulse she couldn't control. She felt Shelby tense up at first but then she relaxed and put her arms around her too, resting her cheek to the side of her head.

"You're welcome" she whispered. They stayed like that for a bit and then they parted. Shelby felt like some part of her was missing now that she knew what it was like to hold her in her arms.

"I should go, my dads are probably wondering where I am." She thought she saw her wince when she mentioned her dads but when she looked again it was gone. _Maybe I imagined it._

"Yeah, sure. I should go too, it's late. We can walk out together." They walked in silence, each thinking about not wanting to go but knowing they had to. They got to the parking lot and didn't really know what to do.

"See you then. Good luck with your Gaga thing." Shelby said before she turned towards her car. Rachel watched her walk away and then turned; thinking for the first time that she might actually get to have a real relationship with her mom.

**

* * *

AN: ok so, quick question. I have two options after this: go with the rest of the episode as it is with Shelby saying goodbye or not doing that and just keep them together. If I do the episode thing they will still reunite after that, it will just take longer. I'm also thinking of putting in some Shell fluff so, what do you think?**


	5. Her Words Destroyed my Planet

**AN: Here it is! Sorry for the delay but I didn't really know where to go with this. Thanks for the reviews and for your input, the votes were kind of all over the place so I decided to keep the fluff light for now and to stay with the original story but don't worry, they will reunite at some point. I hope you like it. I was listening to Motion City Soundtrack and thought the title of this song fit this chapter. It's really good so if you haven't heard it you really should.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Her Words Destroyed my Planet

Shelby arrived at Will Schuester's office with a knot in her stomach. _Rachel probably told him about me and he's worried about Regionals and his precious Glee club. There's nothing to worry about._ But still, she felt like she was about to throw up.

She put on her game face and tried to stay in control of the situation. "I know why you called and don't worry about it. My reconnection with Rachel is not some kind of plot to mess with you guys before Regionals"

"I'm not worried about Regionals" _He's not? Then why did he call me? _"It's Rachel" _Rachel?_ "She's special. She's got all of the best of you. She's strong willed, dramatic, wildly talented"

Shelby couldn't control her smile. _He thinks I'm talented_. "Go on." She even threw in a little hair flop with that.

"But she's not hard like you." _Hard? What is that supposed to mean? I'm not hard, am I?_ "She's fragile, overemotional and she's clearly convinced herself that you are as committed to this reunion as she is. And I don't think you are, you're not prepared to have a teenage daughter, are you?"

Shelby smiled, amazed that this man she barely knew could see through her. She told him about her inability to have kids. She didn't really know why, but she felt like she could trust him. And maybe he was right, maybe she was hard and she could never really open her heart to anyone, not even Rachel. Maybe all of this was just going to cause Rachel more pain. "Rachel's an adult now, she doesn't need me"

And that's where she was wrong. Rachel did need her, and Will knew it but it wasn't his place to tell her that. "Shelby, I can't tell you what to do but if you really love her you have to tell her what you just told me." She looked like she was going to cry and he knew that if he just told her how much Rachel needed her, it will all just go away. But Shelby needed to hear it from her, not from this damaged guy who she made out with once.

Maybe if things had been different it would have worked out between them. He kept her number in his wallet just in case he figured things out. He'd been tempted to call her a few times but, like she said, he wasn't ready to be someone's boyfriend yet and, although the circumstances that finally made him call her weren't optimal, he was still glad to see her.

He walked to the other side of his desk and wiped out a tear that was gliding down her cheek. She looked up and gave him a little smile, leaning a little into his hand. He had really great hands, soft but masculine. She had to remind herself that he wasn't ready for a real relationship and that she wasn't looking for anything else right now, at least not with him. It was really hard not to throw herself into his arms and cry on his shoulder. He made her feel safe, and the way he cared about Rachel made it harder still.

She got up from the chair and looked at him in the eye. She could see he wanted to say something else but she just kissed his cheek, said a barely audible thanks and walked out.

Shelby walked out of the office and drove home. Good thing she was done with work because she couldn't really think right now. She kept going over her conversation with Will and her afternoon with Rachel. Will was right, she wasn't ready for a teenage daughter, she wanted her baby back and Rachel was not a baby anymore. She didn't need her. She knew it would hurt Rachel, but in the long run it would be better for her. She just hoped that she could go through with it, even if Will's words were true and she was hard, this would hurt probably more than the first time she let her go.

She went into the kitchen looking for something to drink. She opened her cupboard and that's when she saw it, her gold star cup. She'd bought it before she went to New York. She loved gold stars. She could give her to Rachel so that she could remember her, even if she'd failed her, twice.

* * *

Shelby walked towards the auditorium. She hadn't really figured out what she was going to tell her, but she had to do it before she changed her mind. She stopped when she got there and took a deep breath before walking to where she was, plastering a smile on her face.

"So how did your dads come up with the name Rachel?" she walked to the other side of the piano, mostly to stop herself from touching Rachel because she knew that, if she did, she wouldn't be able to go through with it.

"They were big Friends fans" Shelby knew she couldn't keep putting it off and it showed in her expression. Rachel saw her face and knew what was coming.

_Maybe if I do it myself it won't be as hard. _"I know why you're here, to say goodbye."

_God, she even bailed me out of having to say it myself. More proof that she doesn't need me. _"I really wanted this to work" She didn't know what else to say. Rachel nodded as if she understood why she was doing this. But she didn't.

"You know what really turned me? That story that you told me about your dads and how they'd bring you water when you were sad. We're never gonna have anything like that. It's too late for us." Rachel didn't think that was true. "I just think that anything we share right now is gonna be confusing for you."

_Well that's my problem, not yours. _She wanted to beg her not to leave her, beg for another chance, but she saw that she had made up her mind. So she did what she thought was the easiest thing for both of them, she lied.

"I just don't understand it, you're my mom. I feel awful right now and I should wanna just fall into your arms and let you rock me and tell me everything is gonna be fine but I just don't feel it" Shelby wanted to that so bad, her arms hurt from the strength it took to keep them where they were. She couldn't do that, this was for the best. So she said the one thing she knew would make Rachel believe it.

"It's because I'm your mother, but I'm not your mom" Rachel felt as if someone had put a knife through her stomach. She took a moment to collect herself.

"So what, do we just pretend we don't know each other now?" Shelby thought that, with Regionals coming and them being in opposing teams, that was going to be kind of hard.

"That seems silly, let's just be grateful for one another" _Grateful? What does that even mean?_ "from afar, for a while" _What is a while, a year, ten?_ "Don't think for a second I'm gonna go soft on you during regionals" And there was the Shelby she knew and loved, even if she didn't really know her. She smiled at that even through her tears. "Bring it."

"Can I have a hug goodbye?" Shelby knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn't go without hugging her again.

"Sure" They walked around the piano and met in the middle. Rachel threw her arms around her and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure if she could let her go.

Shelby held her tight, knowing this might be the last time she did this. It took all of her strength to pull away and to hold in the tears she felt coming.

"Can you do me one more favor?" Rachel nodded not really knowing what to expect.

"Sometime when you're thirsty, can you get yourself some water from this cup? Gold stars are kind of my thing" Rachel looked at the cup. Gold stars were her thing too. She didn't know what to say. It was the only thing she'd have to remember her mom by.

"Of course" she walked back to where her papers were and thought of asking a favor herself. _It couldn't hurt, right?_

"Shelby?" _Shelby? I was kind of getting used to mom… _"Before you go, would you sing with me? Just one time, it's sort of a fantasy of mine and it would really mean a lot to me"

After seeing her at Sectionals, Shelby had thought about it too. "I would be honored"

Rachel called the guy who played the piano and handed her some sheet music. When she started singing, Shelby regretted leaving her again. _She's really good; with my help she could be amazing._

Rachel was amazed at how well their voices blended together. It was as if they were meant to sing together. They complemented each other perfectly.

They were so wrapped up in the song that when they reached the final verses it felt like it had been too short. Shelby walked to the other side of the piano and when she reached her, she didn't really know what to do.

"You are really, really good" she felt stupid saying it, but it was true and she didn't know what else to say. Hugging her again was out of the question so she just cupped her cheek and walked away.

Rachel felt like her whole world had been smashed to pieces. She was barely keeping it together. She turned around and saw the cup. She kind of felt like smashing it to pieces but she knew she would regret it later. She couldn't believe she had lost her mom again.

**

* * *

AN2: I'm not gonna beg but reviews make me write faster XD**


	6. Lean on Me

**AN: I really don't know where this came from. I hope you like the fluff. Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or complaints feel free to review.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Lean on Me

Shelby was fuming. Those stupid little McKinley kids had slashed her whole teams' tires. Of course, Rachel was part of those stupid little McKinley kids, but she could never do something like that. It had to have been those jocks they had on their team. She had to go down to the school and set things straight. Someone had to pay for what they did… and it would give her a chance to see Will Schuester again. She didn't want to think about running into Rachel though. Ever since they sang together she couldn't stop thinking about what a huge mistake leaving her again had been. But what's done is done.

* * *

After seeing Jesse back in Vocal Adrenaline and having to clean up their choir room after it had been TP'd, Rachel didn't know if she could take anything else. She had been wallowing in self pity ever since Shelby said goodbye and then this happened. Puck and Finn said they'd taken care of it, but nothing they could do would change the fact that she was broken.

As she walked down the hall towards her locker she saw Shelby coming out of Principal Figgins's office. She hadn't seen her since they sang together a week ago and she felt a gut wrenching pain.

Shelby looked up and saw her standing there. She had to fight the urge to run down the hall and beg for forgiveness. Instead, she walked straight to her with a smile on her face but something seemed off with Rachel. She saw that she was trying to smile back but it looked more like a grimace. They exchanged a shy greeting and Rachel looked down at her shoes while twirling a strand of her hair.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rachel looked up at her. She couldn't believe she was asking her that. _Who does she think she is? She couldn't tell her she didn't want her and then act all concerned._

"Like you actually care" she said, her voice dripping with resentment. Shelby didn't know how to react. She tried to touch her shoulder but Rachel shrugged her hand away.

Shelby had to control the tears she felt coming. "I do care, Rachel, you're my daughter." _Now I'm her daughter? What the hell is wrong with her?_

"No, I'm not. I'm just a stranger who happened to spend 9 months in your belly, which apparently means nothing to you. I can't take you changing your mind about me every five minutes. You already decided to abandon me, twice! Do me a favor and just leave me alone!" she stormed off and bumped into Mr. Shuester who had been standing in front of Figgins's office. She didn't care he'd heard them; she just wanted to get as far away as she could from everyone.

Shelby stood there, speechless. She heard someone shuffling behind her so she turned. And there he was, Will Schuester looking all cute and concerned. "I assume you heard that" she tried to smile at him but it hurt too much. She felt like something was pressing on her chest and it was getting hard to breathe.

"I didn't mean to, but she was practically screaming. Listen, Shelby…"

She walked away without letting him finish his sentence. "I need some air"

He followed her out. She stopped next to her car and leaned on it with one hand trying to get some air into her lungs. She started to cry. Will walked to her and held her. She pressed her face to his shoulder and he rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. It took her a while to recompose herself. She stepped back and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't… I just…" Will shushed her. He knew it was really hard for her to show her softer side. She was used to people seeing her as nothing-can-get-to-me-Corcoran.

"It's ok. Don't worry about it." He kissed her forehead and she gave a little sob. "Do you want to talk about it? We could go get a cup of coffee or something."

"I don't know Will. I don't think it's a very good idea and you probably have things to do" _And I'm so vulnerable right now that I might jump you at the first chance I get._

"I don't. Just give me a minute to go get my stuff and I'll meet you back here, ok?" he gave her a million watt Schuester smile that she couldn't resist. She nodded.

They decided to drive to Will's house since Shelby didn't really feel like crying in public again, and it was closer than her house. Each drove in their car and Shelby got there faster than him since his car could barely move. She sat in his driveway thinking that this was really not a good idea. She was about to start her car again when she saw Will's car pull over next to hers. He got out and tapped on her window. "Are you coming?" he said nonchalantly. God, she hated how he could turn her into mush just by looking at her.

He took her sweater and walked to his kitchen to make coffee. Shelby had a déjà vu as soon as she sat at his living room couch waiting for him to make her coffee. He gave her a mug and sat at the other end.

"How are you feeling?" he looked at her trying to deduce something by her expression.

"Better, thanks. I guess I deserved that, really. I can't expect Rachel to trust me after what I did. I don't know what I was thinking just walking up to her like nothing had happened." She sighed and looked down at her shoes, sipping her coffee.

"I'm really sorry Shelby." He put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it. Shelby smiled at him.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who let her believe I didn't care about her" she sniffed and he intertwined their fingers, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand.

"Do you want me to talk to her? I'm sure she didn't mean what she said. She's been under a lot of stress lately with Jesse going back to Vocal Adrenaline and with Regionals so close" Shelby felt a pang at that. Another thing she was to blame for: Jesse. She'd never thought she'd fall for him and vice versa. All she said to him was to befriend her not to seduce her. He'd done that all by himself.

"I don't think it will help. I really messed up this time Will." He scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and they just sat there for a while.

"So, what's new with you?" she asked, trying to think of something other than how much it comforted her to have him so close.

"I signed my divorce papers today" he kept rubbing circles on her shoulder with his thumb which made it really hard for Shelby to concentrate on what he was saying. But what he said made her feel a little hopeful.

"And how do you feel about that?" he loved how she wanted to know how he felt after what she had been through today.

"Relieved, free, ready to move on with my life" he gave her a hopeful look. Ever since he saw her to talk about Rachel he hadn't stopped thinking about her. He really did feel ready to move on.

"What happened to that girl you were seeing?" she tried to make it sound as casual as she could.

"Emma? That didn't really work out. You were right, I was rushing into things. I needed some time to just be with me, but I couldn't ask her to wait for me, it wasn't fair to her. In the end things got a little ugly. I think we had this picture in our heads of what we could be but in the real world it didn't work." Shelby rested her head on his shoulder and they fell into a companionable silence, both of them just glad to have the other to lean on.

After a while Shelby got up. "I should go, it's getting late." Will walked her to the door still holding her hand.

He couldn't bear her looking so sad. "I'll talk to Rachel, see what I can do."

"Thanks, Will" she let go of his hand and suddenly felt cold. She grabbed her sweater and when she was about to walk out, he turned her and gave her a quick kiss. She cupped his neck and pressed her forehead to his for a second and then walked out.

**

* * *

AN2: I'm sorry for stretching the angst a little bit but it will get resolved soon. It just didn't really seem logical for Rachel not to be a little mad at Shelby after everything that had happened between them. ****Let me know what you think.**


	7. Retaliation

**AN: I had to divide this one, it was getting too big. I already have half of the next chapter so I hope I can upload it really soon.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Retaliation

Rachel knew she had overreacted. It wasn't Shelby's fault that Jesse had left and maybe she did care about how she felt, but it was too much for her. She really needed her and she had just left her, just like Jesse. No one who cared about you would do that.

She went to school the next day even though she barely had the energy to walk. Puck was being especially annoying and she really didn't care about the Funk assignment or what Mercedes though of Quinn. Mr. Schue asked her to see her in his office at the end which was not rare since the whole team depended on her. Maybe he wanted to give her a special assignment. She didn't have the energy to do it but she went in anyway.

"You seem to be taking this Jesse thing pretty hard."

_That's the understatement of the decade _"I want him to be eaten by a lion." Will sat at his desk and sighed.

"Jesse cared about you" He was pretty sure that was true.

"Our entire relationship was just some diabolical plan. They knew that if they broke my heart close enough to the competition that I'd lose my will to live and then New Directions would have no chance at winning regionals"_ She is just as dramatic as her mother._

"It's text book, you destroy the heart of the team's heart and you destroy the team." _Maybe this whole thing with Shelby was meant to break my heart too. What if she never even considered being part of my life and she just did it to win at regionals? _

Rachel didn't want to think that her mom would be capable of doing that but some people would do anything to win. She would get over Jesse's betrayal eventually but if her mom did do that to her, she didn't know how she was going to move on.

"This isn't just about Jesse, is it?" Will waited for Rachel to say something but she just sat there, looking at her shoes. "I talked to her yesterday" He didn't have to say who he was talking about. Rachel looked up at him. "Well, we didn't actually talk much. She mostly cried."

_She cried? Why would she cry? Shelby Corcoran didn't look like the kind of person who would just cry._ "Why?"

"She loves you Rachel and you said some pretty harsh things to her yesterday. I get that you were angry at her but, how can you think she doesn't care about you?" Will didn't want her to feel bad about it but he had to tell her.

"She said that? She loves me?" Will couldn't believe she doubted that Shelby loved her. He passed her the tissue box.

"More than anything. Listen, from what she told me about what happened between the two of you, it seems like she made all of those decisions by herself, albeit she thought it was for your own good, but you never actually got to tell her how you felt about her and about what you wanted from her. I mean, it's your life, don't you think you should get a say in who is and isn't in it?" Rachel thought about it. He was right, no one had ever asked her if she wanted her mom in her life, which she did. Her dads decided for her 16 years ago and now Shelby decided, all of them thinking it was for her own good but they never asked for her opinion.

"You're right Mr. Schue. I will give it some thought. Thanks" She smiled for the first time in days and walked out of his office. She needed to think what she was going to say to her.

* * *

Shelby had a talk with her kids about what had happened with McKinley. She assured them that they will get paid for the tires and that she would not tolerate any further retaliation from their part.

Jesse was walking out of the auditorium when one of the girls called him. He walked over to her and saw about 8 kids from Vocal Adrenaline huddled up behind the auditorium. "What's going on?"

"We're planning what we're going to do to those New Directions idiots; we can't just stand here and do nothing after what they did to our tires." Jesse didn't like this.

"But Ms. Corcoran said…" he was cut off by one of the boys. "Ms. Corcoran is biased by the fact her daughter is one of them. And besides, what is she gonna do? Regionals are next week. So are you in St. James, or are you going back to them and watch us beat you losers?"

Jesse knew he couldn't go back, the thing with Rachel was done ever since that "Run, Joey, Run" debacle. He had to help them or they wouldn't trust him. "What's the plan?"

* * *

Rachel got a call from Jesse as she was walking to class. Maybe he changed his mind and wanted to come back. "Meet me out in the parking lot."

Rachel hung up and walked out of the school. He was standing there with a huge smile on his face and he waved her over. Rachel started to run towards him and stopped a few yards from him. She didn't see the guy come out from behind a car but she felt something hit the back of her head. Suddenly she saw, and felt, a bunch of eggs hit her. She looked at Jesse, at least he wasn't laughing at her. Then that horrible girl said something about her being a vegan and turned to Jesse.

"Do it Jesse." Jesse looked at the egg in his hand. "Are you with us or not?" he had to do it.

He walked over to where Rachel was standing. "Do it, break it like you broke my heart" Jesse remembered how she broke his heart first.

"I loved you." he raised the egg and smashed it on her forehead. They all walked away and she was left standing there in the middle of the parking lot, all covered in egg yolk and feeling worse than before.

* * *

She was going to kill them. Hang them all from the flag pole starting by Jesse. Ever since she got that call from Will about them egging Rachel, she couldn't stop thinking of ways she could make them suffer. She was going to kill them and she didn't care if she ended up in jail, no one did that to her baby and got away with it. She told them not to do anything but they went and did it anyway, and to her daughter of all people! They knew Rachel was her daughter and they still did it. Well she wasn't gonna take such a shameless form of insubordination. They wanted to provoke her, well they succeeded and now they were going to pay for it.

They walked into the auditorium with a straight face, as if they hadn't done anything. They got in a line as they always did at the beginning of practice to receive instructions. Shelby started pacing from one side to the other without saying anything. She just looked at them with a really angry look on her face. Some of them turned to look at each other guiltily; others just stared at the floor.

"Whoever went to McKinley today take a step forward" no one moved. She looked at their faces, there was fire coming out of her eyes. "I know who did it, but if you come forward by yourselves it will be easier for everyone"

Jesse stepped forward first, they all turned to him with dumbfounded looks on their faces but the other 8 who went with him stepped forward too.

"The rest of you can go home, there will be rehearsal tomorrow so I expect you to be punctual" they all scurried away relieved they wouldn't get to be on the receiving end of Shelby Corcoran's wrath. She waited until they were gone and turned to look at the remaining students. Some of them looked like they might cry, Jesse was staring at the floor, but a few of them still had smug looks on their faces. She would wipe those off in no time.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I told you not to do anything to those kids. Have you no respect for me?" she looked at them, nobody answered. Well, if they thought she cared more about Regionals than making them respect her, they had another thing coming.

"You are suspended from the team until further notice" she saw all of them look at her; their smugness gone now.

"That's not fair! You're only doing this because it was your daughter!" she couldn't believe that girl just said that. She walked closer to her and she could see she her regret the words as soon as she gave her a deadly glare.

"I'm doing this because you disobeyed a direct order from me and hurt someone, regardless of their relationship to me." She walked back to stand at the center of the stage. "You can come back Monday and maybe I'll reconsider taking you back. I'm very disappointed in you guys, you don't need to do this to win. Your talent is your best weapon." She turned away from them

They started walk away but she wasn't done. "Also, you are not getting the money back for your tires." They groaned and she turned to look at the girl who protested earlier "Now _that_ is for my daughter."


	8. Being Honest

**AN: first of all, I haven't watched Journey so if you're reviewing pleeeease no spoilers, especially if it has to do with Idina. Second, I hope you like this one. I'm still not really sure about it but that's all I've got. ****Comments are appreciated.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Being Honest

Shelby wanted to talk to Rachel, apologize for what Jesse and the others had done. She felt responsible in a way; they wouldn't have done it if she wasn't her daughter. But given what happened the last time she saw her, she doubted it would go well. Will told her what they were doing today. She knew a funk number would put her kids in their place; maybe now she could get them to try one. She would love to see Rachel perform but she couldn't just show up. She told her to leave her alone, and she was going to do that.

* * *

The kids from Vocal Adrenaline gathered in the McKinley auditorium. Rachel came out to the stage and saw their amused faces. They were gonna show those stuck up idiots they could beat them.

They did their song and she noticed the crestfallen expressions in all of them. She especially enjoyed the one on Jesse's face.

When she walked out of the school, Jesse was there waiting for her. She kept a straight face and discreetly checked her surroundings to make sure there weren't any more Vocal Adrenaline idiots around waiting to egg her or something worse.

"You guys were pretty good." Jesse had a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry about the eggs, it wasn't my idea."

Rachel couldn't believe he even dared to speak to her after what happened. "But you still participated. I'm over it now. And by the look on your faces after our little demonstration, I got my revenge."

"I guess you told you mom what we did to you, she suspended us from the team at least until Monday." Jesse chuckled humorlessly "I guess it serves us right. Well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I'll see you in Regionals, if Ms. Corcoran lets us come back" he turned and left.

Rachel kept thinking about what Jesse said. Shelby, her mom, had suspended them for egging her. She was risking Regionals because of her. If their reunion had been a plot to get to her before Regionals she wouldn't have suspended half her team now. Maybe she did care about her after all.

* * *

Shelby heard a knock at her door. She had been lying on her couch not actually having the energy to move except to make herself a cup of tea. She thought of ignoring the door but they knocked again, this time more insistently. She got off the couch and opened the door; ready to yell at whoever it was, but when she opened it she froze.

"Hi, Mr. Schue gave me your address, I hope you don't mind. I wanted to talk to you about something" Rachel stood there not really knowing if she should continue with her speech out here in the porch. Shelby got over her initial shock and invited her in.

Rachel took a curious look around her apartment. It was big and clean, there were more trophies and still nothing that would hint to a personal life of any kind. Shelby walked her to the living room and there she saw a single picture frame on a side table. It was the only picture in the whole house. It was of Shelby and another woman around her age. They had huge smiles on their faces and they were standing outside the Gershwin theatre.

"Do you want something to drink? I think I might have some juice or coke or something." Rachel walked towards the picture and took the frame. She knew she was stalling but she wanted to know about her mom and the people in her life.

"I'm fine, thanks. Who is she?" Shelby smiled at the picture she was holding.

"That's Liz; she was my roommate when I lived in New York. I went to see her a few years ago. She played a small ensemble part in Wicked." Rachel looked at Shelby. She realized that she wasn't as strong as she wanted to appear.

"I love Wicked, especially the original cast. I've always identified with Elphaba, extremely talented but underappreciated and misunderstood. Do you still talk to her?" Rachel realized that she might be the only person Shelby actually considered a friend.

"Not as often as I should. I did tell her about you." Rachel smiled and knew she had done the right thing coming to talk to her. She put down the frame and sat on the couch. Shelby sat on the other side.

"Shelby, I wanted to tell you how I felt. Throughout my whole life no one has ever asked for my opinion. My dads never asked me if I wanted to meet you and people keep making decisions about my life without even asking me. I think I'm old enough to know what I want or at least to make my own mistakes. I know you said that it was too late for us but it's not. When we sang together it felt right. It felt like you were my mom, not just my mother. Like anything bad would go away if you were there. I didn't say anything back then because I really thought you didn't care about me and I didn't want to make it harder for you. But then I talked to Mr. Schue and then Jesse told me you suspended them for egging me and I knew you did care. And so I realized that maybe I just hadn't made myself clear. I want you in my life, mom. I need you." Rachel took a deep breath. She had said it in one go because she knew that if she stopped she'd start to think about things and she would chicken out. She looked at Shelby but she couldn't read her expression.

Shelby didn't know what to say. She felt kind of stupid. It was true; she never asked Rachel what she wanted. It just didn't really occur to her that she'd want her, she already had her dads and she was kind of a mess. She suddenly felt insecure, something that didn't happen often to her. She didn't really know how to be a mom. She noticed Rachel looking at her and realized she hadn't said anything since she stopped talking.

"I'm sorry Rachel" Rachel's face fell at that. She looked down at her lap and started fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. _She's going to tell me she doesn't want to be in my life._

Shelby noticed this and tipped her chin up. "Look at me, Rachel. I'm sorry you thought I didn't care and I'm sorry I never gave you the chance to tell me what you wanted. I assumed that being in your life would not be beneficial for you so I took myself out of the equation. But you're right, I should have asked you." Shelby smiled at her and pulled a stray strand of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "I just want you to be sure that this is what you want." Rachel nodded energetically.

"I want you to really think about it. This isn't going to be easy for either of us. I have no idea how to be a mother and I don't want to overstep. I realize that you are a grown girl and that most of your upbringing and education has already been imparted. And I don't want your dads to think that I'm trying to take you away or anything. I'm a very difficult person to get along with and I've never had someone that was consistently there. As a teacher and a coach I'm strict and expect excellence so I suppose that will translate into my motherly duties. And there is also the fact that I coach your rival team." She paused to look at Rachel. "So are you sure you want this?" Shelby really hoped she said yes.

"Well, I'm not really easy to get along with either. I'm really high maintenance and some people might even consider me neurotic, although that is mostly because I want everything to be perfect. I've never had a mom so I don't really know how to do it either. As for the whole Glee rivalry, I think that I can handle some healthy competition, as long as you don't mind getting your ass kicked by your daughter. So yes, I'm sure." Shelby smiled at her confidence. She was going to have to give Will Schuester a huge present after what he did for her.

Rachel hugged her a little too tight. Shelby laughed. "Ok so, what now?" Rachel looked at her, her grip on her a bit softer.

"I don't know, I didn't really think that far along. I guess we could just hang out sometimes, get to know each other." She turned her head and hugged her tighter. "Do you mind if I we stay like this? Just for a bit, I've really missed you." Shelby felt a tear slide down her cheek and quickly wiped it off with the back of her hand. "Sure"

Shelby started toying with Rachel's hair. She had shifted so that her head was resting on Shelby's lap. It felt good to just be like this. "You should let Jesse and the others back. I wouldn't want us to win just because you were short handed." Shelby laughed.

"Really? Well, I'll talk to them Monday, I wouldn't want you to think we let you win or anything, especially since that's not going to happen. I mean you're really good, don't get me wrong. But I haven't lost in a while and I don't plan on starting. Although I haven't had any decent competition in a while, so this might be a refreshing change." She looked down towards the girl sprawled out on her couch. They both knew it was just friendly banter but Shelby realized that Rachel was good enough to, maybe not beat them, but at least make them sweat. "I'm really proud of you, Rachel."

Rachel froze. She had been waiting to hear those words from her mom her whole life. She hadn't noticed she was crying until Shelby pulled her away from her. "Hey, sweetie, are you ok?"

Rachel nodded and wiped her face forcefully. "I'm sorry, it's just I…I've always wanted to hear that from you."

Shelby hugged her again. "Well it's true, I'm really proud of you."

Rachel hadn't felt this good in a long time. She had even forgotten the whole Jesse egging thing.

"Come on, it's getting late. Do you need a ride home?"

"Yeah" Shelby went to get a jacket and her keys. Rachel gave her directions and when they got to her driveway, Shelby took a deep breath. She saw that there where lights on, so her dads where probably home.

"Maybe I should go in and talk to your dads" Rachel looked at her as if she had suggested they bomb the entire block. "If I'm going to be a part of your life, they need to know. It will be ok, come on."

She said that with more confidence than she actually felt. She got out and waited for Rachel to join her. Rachel opened the door. "I'm home!"

"We're in the kitchen!" Rachel looked and Shelby and squeezed her hand for support. They made their way to the kitchen.

**

* * *

AN: dun, dun, dun! I'm sorry to leave it there but I haven't really thought how this is going to play out but I wanted to post something.**


	9. Putting the Cards on the Table

**AN: I finally watched Journey. I'm not going to say anything about it here in case you haven't seen it. But there is going to be a psychotic rant about it in the note at the end, so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read it. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's an extra long one.**

**Haha I just remembered I didn't really name Rachel's dads so I just changed that. ****Sorry if anyone was confused.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Putting the Cards on the Table

"Hi honey, did you want…?" his question died as soon as he saw who was with Rachel. Mark turned to see why Ben had stopped and saw her too.

"Shelby" No one knew what to say or do and Shelby started to feel like the kitchen walls were closing in on her.

"What are you… when did you guys… how?" Mark had a hard time making sense of what was going on. One minute he was cooking dinner with Ben, waiting for Rachel to show up, and the next minute she walks in, with her mother in tow.

Rachel kept looking from one person to the other, not really knowing what do. She stood between Shelby and her dads, just in case.

"Dad, daddy, this is Shelby Corcoran, my mom" Rachel smiled and tried to look calm.

"We know who she is." Shelby would have thought it was amusing if it hadn't been about her. Of course they knew who she was; she had practically lived with them for nine months. "What we want to know is why she is here."

"Well, she drove me home and we thought that we could all talk, you know, about us, now that we reconnected" they were confused, Rachel had said that she wasn't going to see her again. What happened?

"Maybe we should sit?" Shelby offered, this was getting too uncomfortable and that kitchen didn't really feel like the right place to discuss it.

They went to the dining room, both of Rachel's dads sat on one side, Rachel at the head of the table and Shelby on the other side.

"Listen guys, I'm not here to take her away from you. I waved my rights as a parent when I gave her up, so don't worry about that. I just want to get to know her if that's ok." Ben relaxed a bit at this, but Mark kept a defensive posture.

"Why? You gave her up, you have no right to come here and turn her world upside down just because you feel guilty. Besides, you signed a contract. You couldn't contact her until she was 18."

"I found her. And did it ever occur to you that I want her in my life?" Rachel started to cry. She knew this would happen. Shelby squeezed Rachel's hand in reassurance.

Her dads noticed this and felt like a brick was dropped on their stomachs. "What do you want?"

"I've discussed this with Rachel and we both want to get to know each other. I want you to understand where we're coming from. Rachel loves you very much and I'm very grateful that she has you as her family. I'm not going to come between you guys. I think you got to know me enough to know that I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was right. I do feel guilty for what I did but that's not the only reason I'm doing this." Shelby looked at Rachel.

"I've heard Rachel sing, I've gotten to know her a little bit this past week and I've seen what a wonderful, beautiful person she's become. I want to be part of her life, I love her."

They considered this. They knew that now that Rachel knew her mom, there was nothing they could do to keep them apart. Rachel was as stubborn as a mule, and they loved her for that, but sometimes it could be counterproductive. They decided that if this was going to happen, which was inevitable now, they could at least have it happen under their terms.

"Fine, we get what you're saying and you're right. Rachel is amazing and you would be a fool not to want to be a part of her life. So we're ok with that" Rachel smiled and threw her arms around Mark. "Thanks daddy!"

"But we need some ground rules here. We are the ones who get a say on all the parenting stuff, you cannot interfere with her school work or other activities she participates in, and if at any moment Rachel wants to stop seeing you, you will go away."

Shelby thought about this. She didn't really want to be ordering Rachel about what to do or how to do it so the first one was ok. She had no intention in messing with her school work or Glee or anything that meant something for Rachel. And given the remote possibility Rachel didn't want her in her life anymore, she would leave her alone. She was, after all, doing this because Rachel wanted her in her life so it would be pointless to pursue it otherwise. "Sounds fair"

Rachel squealed and hugged both of her dads. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Shelby laughed at her antics and stood up. "I should let you get on with dinner"

Rachel stopped jumping around and looked at her. "Do you want to stay?"

That was the last thing Shelby wanted right now. "No thanks, I have to do something. But I'll see you, ok?"

Rachel nodded and walked her to the door. "Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it."

Shelby gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked to her car thinking that this had actually gone pretty well.

She got in and started driving. She didn't realize where she was going until she was parked outside Will's house. She didn't know if she should go in or something. What if he had company? She saw that the light was on so he hadn't gone to bed yet. She decided that this was as good as a time as any so she gathered up her courage and walked to the door. She knocked on the door and waited. She could hear music inside so she knocked again, this time louder.

"I'm coming, hold on!" She heard Will shout from the other side and then the door opened. "Shelby! What are you doing here?" He hadn't invited her in but she walked in anyway.

"Hello Will, it's nice to see you too." Shelby gave him a smile so she knew she was joking. "I came to thank you for talking to Rachel. She didn't tell me what you actually said but, whatever it was, it worked. She came to see me and we talked and decided we were going to give it a try."

Will smiled, she was full of surprises. "I just told her to tell you how she felt."

They just stood there not really knowing what else to say. "Have you had dinner? I was just making some pasta." He stepped in to take her jacket.

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to impose" but she let him take her jacket.

"You're not, I was making plenty anyway and it's almost done. You should stay, please?" He stood very close to her with his hands on her elbows. He had that look in his face she couldn't resist. She rested her hands on his chest and looked at him. "Ok."

He moved away from her with a huge smile on his face. "Great! I'll just finish up in the kitchen and you can help me set the table."

* * *

They had a nice dinner. The pasta was really good and Shelby was surprised when he told her he had done the sauce himself. When they were done, Shelby insisted on helping him with the dishes.

Will turned to look at her, in his kitchen, washing dishes and joking around. She was a different person than the one she showed to the rest of the world. It was like she was two different people. Ms. Corcoran the no-nonsense, cold hearted coach of Vocal Adrenaline and Shelby the funny, happy woman who didn't always know what to do. Will liked Shelby, both of her sides. But when she was like this, he thought that maybe he could love her.

"What are you staring at?" Shelby laughed at his goofy face and turned back to the dishes. He walked towards her and hugged her from behind, nuzzling his nose in her neck. He felt her stiffen but he didn't move away.

"You smell good" Shelby's mind went a mile a minute. _What is he doing? This feels really good. No, this can't be happening. We're not ready for this. But it feels right. I need him to step away so I can think!_

"Will, I can't wash the dishes if you're standing there." Will kissed her neck. _God, that felt good._ "Then stop washing the dishes." She put down the dish and closed the faucet. Will smiled against her neck and started trailing kisses up to her ear. Shelby couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips.

"Wait, Will" She pushed him away and turned around. "What are we doing?"

"Well I was kissing you and you looked like you were enjoying it" he gave her a goofy smile. Shelby sighed exasperated by his joke.

"I'm serious! Will, we can't do this!" she walked out of the kitchen and down the hall.

He followed her."Why not?"

She got her jacket out of the hall closet and put it on."Because we won't work! You just got a divorce, I'm just starting this thing with Rachel and Regionals are next week! Or what, did you just want a one night stand?"

Will could hear the hurt in her voice. "No, of course not. I know there are many things that might make this difficult. But I want to try. My marriage ended long before I actually signed the divorce, I went out, I lived and I know I want to do this with you, for real. I'm all in."

Shelby was shocked to say the least. The voice in her head was now shouting "Run!" in a constant loop. She stood there in his hall, her hand on the doorknob ready to just go. But she knew that if she just walked out that door she wouldn't get a second chance. Her hand dropped from the knob to her side.

Will let out the breath he was holding. He could see her thinking about it and that she wasn't going to run away from him. He knew he had to give her some space so he walked back and leaned on the wall opposite from her.

Shelby wanted Will. She couldn't deny that. He was cute and funny and nice and Rachel liked him. She never thought she'd consider what someone else thought about someone she might date; it took her by surprise a bit. Although, it might also be a little bit awkward for her. She'd have to ask her what she thought if she actually went through with this, which she wasn't sure of yet. Why did it have to be so hard?

Will could see her struggling and he really didn't want to lose her. He walked towards her and tipped her chin. "What if we take things slow? We can go out on a real date, after Regionals, and we'll see where it goes from there."

Shelby nodded. It seemed like a good idea. It would give her time to think things through and ask Rachel how she felt about this. Will smiled and kissed her. When they parted for air, Shelby felt a little lightheaded.

"I should go. See you at Regionals." Will watched her walk out with a smile. He was in.

**

* * *

I remind you to stop reading NOW if you haven't watched the finale.**

**Seriously stop!**

**Now!**

**Fine, don't say I didn't warn you.**

**AN: OMG what the hell is wrong with those people! I loved the episode, don't get me wrong. I even almost cried a few times but, what were they thinking having Shelby adopt Beth? Seriously, that was BS, total BS. What the hell was up with that? And what, she's just gonna go away with the baby and never come back? I really don't agree and just so you know there will be no Quinn's baby in this story. Hahaha ok, got it out of my system now. Sorry for the rant.**


	10. Lightning Before Thunder

**AN: This is mostly a transition chapter. It's kind of short but I wanted to show how Shelby dealt with one of Rachel's crisis and I also wanted to do a sort of introduction to regionals. I hope you like it. From this chapter on there will be spoilers for the season finale so you might want to watch it before you continue reading.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Lightning Before Thunder

Shelby was exhausted. They had been practicing "Bohemian Rhapsody" for 5 days now, sometimes for more than 6 hours each day, and only now it had started to look half decent. She hadn't really done all the acrobatics that much, she didn't want to risk any injuries right before regionals.

Jesse and the others had shown up Monday with a huge bouquet of flowers saying they were sorry. She had let them back on the team but as punishment they had to stay after practice to rearrange the auditorium. They were more than happy to do anything it took to get back on her good side.

She heard her phone ringing and told them to take a break. She picked up her phone and saw it was Rachel calling her. She smiled. They had only talked over the phone since the night she went to talk to her dads. She hadn't had time with all this rehearsing before regionals. "Hi, baby. How are you?"

Rachel smiled despite her awful mood. She hadn't gotten used to Shelby calling her baby but she loved it. Shelby had started calling her that without really thinking about it. She'd never called anyone baby, but Rachel was her baby. She only called her that when there was no one else around though, she couldn't let people think she'd gone soft.

"Terrible. I found out something today that is surely going to ruin my life." Rachel didn't know how much to say about Coach Sylvester being a judge at Regionals since it also affected Vocal Adrenaline, but she needed to talk to someone who understood.

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure it's not that bad." Shelby looked at her watch, it was almost 6. Her kids started to come back and take their places on stage "I'm in the middle of rehearsal but I get out at 7, do you want to go grab dinner so we can talk?"

"Sure, do you want me to meet you somewhere? I'm at home right now."

"No, I can pick you up. Gotta go, bye."

Rachel stared at her phone. She didn't think telling her about Coach Sylvester would hurt. They knew about it and there really was nothing they could do. Besides, she trusted Shelby, she wouldn't cheat.

* * *

She got a text a little after 7. -I'm outside, come out.-

She had to admit that, considering everything that happened today, going to dinner with her mom had really turned her day.

She got in the car. She hadn't actually seen her since she was here last to talk to her dads, so she was a little nervous.

Shelby backed out of her driveway and turned on the radio. "So, where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Wherever you want is fine." She drove to a little Italian place she knew not far from there. They had the best pastas. They ordered their food, Shelby had a three cheese penne and Rachel ordered vegan spaghetti with tomato sauce. "This is really good, I've never been to this place."

Shelby noticed something was really troubling her, she would stare out into space and she hadn't really said much since they got there. "What's going on Rach?"

Rachel swallowed the bite she had in her mouth and took a drink of her coke before answering. "I'm going to tell you something that has to do with Regionals. It has nothing to do with what we're actually going to perform but it affects us and you so I need to know I can trust you."

Shelby would never do something to hurt Rachel and she already had her number for Regionals and there wasn't really time to change it now. "I promise I won't use whatever you say against you and your team." Shelby smiled.

"Sue Sylvester, the Cheerios coach is going to be a judge at Regionals" Shelby had no idea how this could ruin Rachel's life.

"Ok, a few questions. First of all, what the hell is a Cheerio? And second, why is that woman being a judge bad for you?"

"Oh sorry, I assumed you knew. The Cheerios are McKinley's cheerleaders" _made sense_ "and that woman hates us. And Principal Figgins said that if we didn't place at Regionals the Glee club would disappear. So now we have no chance to even place and there will be no Glee club and my life is over" Rachel started toying with her straw and wiped a tear with the back of her hand.

"Hey, come on, don't cry. Look at me. There are four judges, even if this Sue person voted against you there would be three other people who can vote for you." Shelby squeezed Rachel's hand. "And even if you don't place at Regionals, which I highly doubt, your life wouldn't be over. There are many things you can do besides Glee club." Rachel shook her head.

"Most of the people there don't like me. They only talk to me because we're in Glee. They respect me. Without Glee I go back to being a loser nobody talks to and throws slushies at. Finn wouldn't even look at me if it wasn't for Glee. And if we lose, everyone would see us as failures, especially me." Rachel started to cry more so Shelby passed her some napkins so she could blow her nose. Rachel was being a little overdramatic, even for her, although, she would like to know more about this slushie business and maybe go and kick some of those snotty kids' butts.

"Rachel, sweetie, no one will see you as a failure. The only thing you can do is try your best, and if that isn't enough to win, there is no way people can say anything about it. For what it's worth, I'm going to be really proud of you, even if you lose. But if you start defeating yourselves before you even try, you will fail." Rachel looked at her wide eyed. "And if those kids don't talk to you after Glee club then, who cares? You don't need people who don't appreciate you."

Rachel nodded. She knew they were good, and she was right, there were other judges. They could do this.

"You can't quit, ever. Even if everyone says you can't make it, you have to prove them wrong. People didn't think I could win nationals with a routine that had the kids standing in their hands the whole time, but I did. You're my daughter, we don't quit. And besides, what would be the fun in beating you guys if you're not even going to try?"

Rachel chuckled. _Standing in their hands, really? She was good._ "Ok, I won't let my team quit."

Shelby smiled at her. She was glad she could handle this. Of course, she had a lot of experience in this particular topic so it wasn't really that hard. But she felt like she passed her first mom test.

"Let's go. You need to rest so you can start fresh tomorrow and get ready for Regionals"

She drove her home and they said goodbye. Rachel seemed more relaxed on their drive back. "Thanks for everything, I really needed this."


	11. Thunderstorm

**AN: Had a bit of a hard time writing this but I hope you like how it turned out. I'm gonna forget for a bit that Rachel is a vegan, it's kind of hard to fix things around it, I hope you don't mind. Also, I'm sorry I haven't replied to all of your reviews but I thought that you might prefer I write another chapter instead. ****I really, really appreciate all of them.**

* * *

Chapter 11: Thunderstorm

Rachel kept pacing backstage. Aural Intensity was performing and they were next. This was it. Everything they had worked for, it all came down to this performance. Mr. Schue had gone in and given his "we're awesome no matter what" speech. She heard people clapping which meant they were up.

She went to take her place and looked at Finn. He walked over to her.

"Break a leg?" He had a curious expression on. They hadn't really talked about their kiss the other day but she decided it would be best to let it rest until after Regionals.

"I love you" He then went back to his place and the music started.

* * *

Rachel was amazing. She hadn't expected any less of her, but god, that girl could sing. They were all great. Shelby started to get a little nervous. "Come on guys! We're up next. I want everyone ready in two minutes!" Vocal Adrenaline's room was bustling with activity. Some girls were running around arranging their hair and makeup and some boys were having a difficult time with their suspenders. The cheers and claps form the audience when New Directions finished were so loud it sounded like the sky was falling.

Some of her kids looked worried after hearing the cheers. "By the time we're done, those cheers will sound like a cricket next to what we get. Let's go guys, move!" This seemed to calm them down a bit and they walked out in a line with confidence. "Show faces everyone!"

* * *

They were standing in the stage. Aural Intensity was between Vocal Adrenaline and New Directions. Sue Sylvester announced the runner up, Aural Intensity. Shelby got a sinking feeling in her stomach. One of them would win and the other wouldn't even place. She'd never felt so ambivalent about a competition, she was used to winning and never really thought about the other teams. She looked to her right and saw Rachel and Will, Rachel saw her and she gave her a little smile. She knew that this meant a lot to both of them. She wished there was something she could do to make this easier, but there wasn't. She wanted to reach out and hold Rachel's hand or something.

"And now, your 2010 Midwest Regional Show Choir Champions: Vocal Adrenaline!" Shelby clapped, she was happy they had won. She felt hugs and congratulations from her kids. Jesse was handed the trophy and they lifted him, cheering. Her smiled died as soon as she turned around and saw Rachel. She was devastated and so were the other kids and Will. She didn't know if she should say something or do something so she just stood there. Will looked at her and she waved, he just looked down. _Damn, they were probably mad at me now. I didn't really do anything. It's not my fault we won, I mean, it is in part but I didn't make them lose._

She watched them start to walk down the stage, she had to do something. She followed them backstage. "Rachel!" The girl turned with tears in her eyes. Shelby walked to her and hugged her. "You did great. I'm really proud of you."

Rachel started sobbing uncontrollably. Shelby's hug broke all her barriers and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Shelby rubbed her back. "Everything's going to be ok. Don't worry. Remember what I told you. You did your best." She saw Will looking at her and he smiled at her.

Rachel started to calm down after a while. Shelby could feel a wet spot on her sweater from her tears and she didn't want to think about how much snot. She just continued to rub her back until Rachel pulled away.

"Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up, ok?" She wiped some of Rachel's tears away. It broke her heart to see her like this. She didn't actually feel bad about winning, she just felt bad about Rachel losing but she couldn't have both.

"Don't you have a celebration to go to?" Rachel wasn't really mad at her, she was just mad and she knew that taking it out on Shelby wasn't fair. She tried to make it sound cool but Shelby's smile fell a little at this and Rachel felt bad about it.

"Do you want me to go?" She might just need some time alone. Rachel shook her head. "Good, then the only place I have to be, is here. Well not right here, but you know what I mean."

Rachel laughed. "Thanks mom."

They went to the bathroom and Rachel fixed her mascara and eye liner. She was a mess. Her hair was also a bit messy from the hug so it took a while for her to finish. They walked out of there, Shelby's arm around her shoulders.

"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Rachel shrugged. "Come on, it will make you feel better." She looked at Rachel and gave her an encouraging smile.

"Ok" Rachel didn't know how to feel about this. She knew Shelby cared about her and she was really trying to make her feel better but she still was the one who beat her. It was because her team won that New Directions would disappear. But ice cream sounded really good right now.

* * *

She ordered two scoops of Ben and Jerry's, one Phish Food and one Brownie Batter. She knew it was too much chocolate but she really needed the endorphins. Shelby got one scoop of Chunky Monkey. The sat at one of the tables. Shelby didn't say anything; she didn't want to push her.

After a while Rachel talked. "Finn told me he loved me." Shelby arched an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were going out with him. Finn's the tall one right? The male lead?" Rachel took a spoonful of ice cream before she continued.

"Yes. We weren't going out. I sort of kissed him a couple of days ago but we never really talked about it. He just came up to me before we sang and told me he loved me, it was kind of romantic." Shelby smiled. She loved that Rachel felt good enough to talk about this with her.

"And do you love him back?" Rachel toyed with her plastic spoon. She really liked Finn. She didn't know what was going to happen now that Glee club was over.

"Maybe. I haven't been in love before so I have no previous references." Shelby smiled at her clinical tone. She overanalyzed everything just like her.

"Ok… Just nod if what I say is true. Do you feel good when you're with him?" Nod. "Do you think about him when you're not?" Nod. "Have you ever felt like nothing else mattered when you're with him?" Nod. "Does your heart rate increase when he's in the room?" Nod. "Have you ever felt like he could melt you with just one look or one word?" Nod. "Do you trust him?" Nod. "Then honey, I think you might be in love."

Rachel considered this. She was in love with Finn Hudson and he loved her too. It felt weird but good. She looked at her mom, she seemed to be thinking about something too.

Shelby considered all the things she had told Rachel. That's how she felt about Will but she wasn't in love with him, was she? They hadn't even gone out on a date or anything, just a few really hot make out sessions. He said they would go on a real date after Regionals. Should she call him or should she wait for him to call her? Oh god, he had turned her into a girl. She never wondered when to call someone. When she wanted to, she just did.

Rachel cleared her throat and Shelby snapped out of her musings. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about, you know, love."

Rachel smiled. Maybe she wasn't the only one in love. "Who is he?"

Shelby looked shocked. She wasn't expecting Rachel to read her like that. "What? I don't know who you're talking about." Like hell she knew. But she wasn't just gonna tell her 16 year old daughter that she might be in love with her teacher.

"Fine, it's ok. You don't have to tell me." She could hear Rachel was hurt. She had told her about Finn, She didn't get why she couldn't tell her.

"No, it's just. It's complicated. I don't know what's going on yet but as soon as I know I'll tell you, ok?" Rachel gave her a crooked smile.

Shelby's phone beeped. She apologized and checked the text message she just received. It was from Will.

"Congratulations! I didn't get to see your kids but I'm sure they were amazing. I'll call you in a few days to set up that date, just let me sort out this whole Glee stuff. I miss you."

Shelby felt a tug in her heart. He didn't sound so good either. She hadn't really thought about the implications this had on him too. She looked at Rachel, she seemed better now. She had already finished most of her ice cream and at least she wasn't all mopey.

She took her home and walked her to the door. "You really were amazing today." She gave her a kiss and a hug.

"Thanks for being there. I love you." Rachel hugged her again and got inside.


	12. Wine and Beer

**AN: I wrote this extra fast since you've all been so nice with your reviews. ****This is all Shell fluff. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Wine and Beer

Shelby felt really good. Rachel had never actually told her she loved her. She knew it but she needed to hear the words. She started driving and decided that there was still someone who might need her right now. Well maybe not need her but she could try to help.

She knocked on Will's door and after a lot of thumping the door opened. He looked really bad. His eyes were red and his hair wasn't as perfect as always.

"Shelby! You came! Did I tell you to come? I don't remember. Come in!" He pulled her in, not really leaving her a choice. She studied him for a second.

"No, you didn't ask me to come." He almost knocked over a vase by the door and then very clumsily tried to replace it.

"Are you drunk?" She laughed. He looked confused for a second and then looked at her.

"Me? Drunk? No. I was just celebrating the demise of Glee club. I might have had a few drinks." He walked towards his living room with Shelby close behind making sure he didn't break anything.

"I'm sooooooo glad you came. I've gotta tell you, I really thought we could win this thing. But that's how it goes, right? The great Sue Sylvester finally got what she wanted. I'm not saying you didn't deserve to win, I'm sure you guys were great." He flopped down on the couch. "Do you want a drink? I ran out of beer a while ago but I found some bottles of wine, it's actually pretty good." Shelby sat down next to him and he reached for the bottle.

"No thanks. And maybe you've had enough, so no more for you either." She took the bottle away from him and placed it on her side of the coffee table. He pouted. He looked so adorable. _God Shelby, the man is drunk. Control yourself._ "I can make you some coffee if you want."

He leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "I just can't believe that all this work was for nothing. These kids, they broke their backs to get to where they were, and for what? There were just 5 of them at first, you know? And we sucked. I mean, don't get me wrong, individually they were really good, but they didn't know how to be a team. Rachel was the most difficult to break. She's just like you. She has to be a star." Shelby smiled but let him go on. "And after all of that, getting the other kids, working to get as good as we where, the whole baby drama and then the whole Jesse thing." Shelby flinched. "All of that for nothing. Nothing…"

She reached out and cupped his cheek. "It's going to be ok Will. The kids will be fine, you will be fine. It might take some time, but you will get over it." He leaned into her hand and closed his eyes. Then he turned his head and kissed her palm. It felt so intimate it scared Shelby. She pulled her hand away and he opened his eyes.

"I'll go make you that coffee." She stood up and walked into the kitchen. In his drunken stupor Will could still notice that she was running away.

She turned on the coffee maker and stared at it as it dripped the coffee into the pot. _What am I doing? He's drunk and vulnerable. I have to go. _She was so into her thoughts that she didn't hear him walk up to her, even with his drunk induced clumsiness. He leaned on the counter. "Thank you for coming, you didn't have to do that."

Shelby jumped when she heard his voice and turned to him. "I know. You should sit down. I'll bring you your coffee when it's done."

Shelby started pushing him out of the kitchen but he was really heavy and he wasn't cooperating. He just stared at her with a goofy grin."Come on Will, move. This isn't funny."

He laughed. At least he had stopped wallowing but she still got mad that he was laughing at her. Why were drunk people always so stubborn? He grabbed her and hugged him to her. He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I love you."

She froze and pushed him away. "You're drunk and you stink, move away." _He didn't just say that. You're imagining things. It was just your stupid conversation with Rachel that is making you hear things you think you want to hear. And besides, he's drunk. Even if he did say it he doesn't mean it._ She kept pushing him until he finally turned and walked back to the couch.

Shelby sighed and went back to fill a mug with coffee and gave it to him. "Here, drink this." He stared at the cup in his hand and then at the stern look on Shelby's face and took a sip. She took the almost empty bottle and took it to the kitchen where he wouldn't find it easily. "I'm going now."

He got off the couch with a sad face. He looked like he might cry. "Don't go, please. Stay with me, I promise I'll behave. Please?"

He looked so helpless and miserable. She couldn't leave him like this. "Fine, just for a little while." She walked back to the couch and flopped down with resignation.

She looked up when he didn't follow her but he was gone. "Will?" She heard water running so he had probably gone to the bathroom.

He came back with a big smile on his face. Shelby eyed him suspiciously. "I went to brush my teeth so I don't stink anymore." He took another sip of coffee and wrinkled his nose. "My coffee tastes funny now though."

Shelby laughed and didn't protest when he threw his arm around her shoulders and started toying with her hair. She leaned into his chest. She could get used to this.

They sat in silence for a long time. He kept playing with loose strands of her hair and at some point she had started to rub his chest with her hand. He had a really good chest and nice abs. She wondered if he worked out. _Wrong line of thought Shelby._ This did feel right though, comfortable, safe.

She started to feel the exhaustion of this past few weeks wash over her and at without noticing, she fell asleep. He saw her eyes were closed so he slid down so he was lying with his back on the couch with her lying on top of him, his hand now on her lower back and he also drifted to sleep.

* * *

Shelby woke up with a terrible pain in her back. Frequently, when she was close to a competition, she'd fall asleep on her couch when she was working on something. Maybe she had fallen on her couch when she got home and just fell asleep there. She didn't remember driving home, though. She was on the couch with Will and then…

"Oh my god!" She opened up her eyes and saw Will's chest rising up and down. _Good, I didn't wake him. Maybe I can slip out without him noticing._ She put her hands gently on his chest and tried to scoot to the edge of the couch. She felt his hands on her back holding her in place. _Damn, this isn't going to work._ She tried to move down and get out of his grasp. His hands were now at the top of her back, she just needed to go a little lower.

"Good morning. What are you doing?" Shelby looked up at him guiltily. She could feel herself flushing, what was wrong with her? She never flushed.

"I was trying to get up but I didn't want to wake you." She didn't say she was actually trying to escape and get as far away from him as possible. He found her discomfort amusing. She tried to get up but when she pushed away from him, he reset his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer.

"Thank you." He smiled at her and she could help to smile back. Then she did something she didn't expect. She kissed him. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her closer. When they parted, they were both smiling.

"I have to go. I have to change and I have to be at school at 8." He hadn't stopped peppering kisses all over her face and neck. She pulled away but he held her tight.

"Will, I really have to go. Let me go." She whimpered and pouted and he thought it was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

He kissed her nose. "Fine. But I'm taking you to dinner today."

She arched and eyebrow. "Is that an order Mr. Schuester?"

"Would you go if it wasn't?"

She smiled and got off the couch. She started to walk to the door and he ran after her. He caught her and pinned her to the door. He gave her a kiss that took her breath away and, if he hadn't been holding her against the door, she might have fallen.

"Thank you for last night. I'm sorry if I was a little out of it. At least something good came out of it."

She laughed. "Oh yeah, what?"

"Well, after you fell asleep and I sobered up, I got to hold you in my arms all night." He kissed her again but she pushed him away.

"I really have to go." She opened the door and walked out.

"We're still on for dinner, right?" She just waved. He knew she had him wrapped around her finger but he didn't care. He was falling for her and there was nothing he could do about it.


	13. Getting Ready

**AN: This chapter ended up being something completely different from what I had in my mind when I started it. ****I hope you like it.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Getting Ready

Shelby was on her fifth cup of coffee. She was really tired, but what did she expect after a week of barely sleeping preparing for Regionals and then sleeping on Will's couch with him? She smiled when she remembered this. Despite the fact that he was totally drunk, he was really cute and this morning had been great, considering how awkward it could have been. She couldn't believe she had actually thought of running away. She looked at her watch and groaned, still three hours of classes. Good thing she had given her Vocal Adrenaline kids the week off before they started prepping for Nationals. Her phone chirped.

-Dinner tonight. Pick you up at 7- She smiled despite his commanding tone. At least she had something to look forward to.

* * *

Shelby was walking to her car when her phone started ringing. She grabbed her briefcase with one hand while trying to find the phone in her purse with the other. When she found it, her briefcase fell open on the ground.

"Crap! Hello?" She bent down to pick up her stuff while holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.

"Hi, is this a bad time?" Rachel hesitated given the not so friendly greeting.

"No, sorry. I just dropped all of my stuff on the parking lot. What's up?"

"We got another year!" Rachel screamed it and Shelby's wince made the phone fall off her shoulder.

"Crap! Sorry. That's great Rachel, I'm really glad." She finished packing everything on her briefcase and making sure it was properly closed and continued to her car.

"I need to talk to you about something, are you at school? I can give you a ride home and we can talk then." Rachel got nervous. What would she want to talk to her about? Maybe she wanted to leave her again. She didn't really sound that happy about her getting another year of Glee club.

"Sure, I'll just wait here." Shelby noticed that her previous joy had vanished from her voice. _I wonder what that's about._

"Ok, I'll be there in 15. Bye." Rachel hung up and took a deep breath. _You are overreacting, calm down._

She found Finn at his locker. "Finn, I'm so glad I found you."

"We just said goodbye at the choir room like five minutes ago." He gave her a worried look. She looked like she was going to cry. What could've happened in five minutes?

"Do you mind waiting with me? My mom's coming to pick me up in a few minutes." She looked down to her feet. She looked really nervous.

"Sure, I'll wait with you." He threw his arm around her and walked her out. They sat on the curb in the parking lot.

"Why are you so worried? You've gone out with your mom before." Rachel kept looking at her feet and took a while to answer.

"She said she needed to talk." Finn didn't understand. Her mom always told him she needed to talk to him, although when she used those words it was almost always something bad.

"I think she wants to not see me again but I've been thinking what I could have done to make her want that and I can't think of anything. We've been really good. She really helped me yesterday after we lost. Maybe that's it. She can't have a daughter who's a loser. But she said she didn't care."

Finn thought she was overreacting, but Rachel always overreacted so telling her that wasn't going to help. "Maybe you should wait and talk to her. What was the last thing you told her?"

Rachel thought about it. "That we got another year in Glee. She probably doesn't want to compete with her daughter anymore, or she feels bad because she knows I'm never going to win."

Finn rubbed her back comfortingly. He didn't know what to say. Girls were always so complicated. Why couldn't they just wait and talk to someone when they say they need to talk. Why did they have to fuss over it for so long? He was grateful when he saw Shelby's car pull up in front of them.

"Thanks for staying Finn, bye." She got in the car and Shelby waved at the boy still sitting on the curb. Finn waved back and got up.

"He's cute." Rachel waited for her to drive out of the school to say something. She kept her eyes on her hands. "I'm leaving Glee club."

"What?" Shelby moved to the side of the road and killed the engine. "Rachel, you love Glee club and you were just so happy you got another chance. Is it because of that boy? You should never let boy trouble dictate what you do." Shelby looked at her. Rachel was still staring at her hands.

"It's not Finn, we're fine." Shelby didn't get it. What had happened between the time she called her and she got to her.

"Then what is it? Rachel, please don't shut me out."

She finally looked up and took a deep breath. She looked at Shelby. She looked really worried. "I don't want you to leave me again."

Shelby looked confused. Why would she think that? "Baby, I'm not going to leave you again." She pulled her into a hug. "Why would you think that? And why would I want you to leave Glee club? You love it and you're amazing."

"You said you needed to talk to me after I told you about the Glee club thing." Her voice was muffled by Shelby's hug. "When people say they need to talk to someone it's never good so I thought that maybe you didn't want to be your daughter's competition anymore so if I wasn't in Glee, there wouldn't be a problem." She looked up at her and Shelby smiled. "It was stupid, I know."

Shelby laughed. "Yes, it was. I'm not going to leave you, Rachel. You don't have to worry about that, ok?" Rachel nodded. Shelby took a deep breath. Now she was the one who was nervous.

"The reason I needed to talk to you is because I wanted to let you know that I am going out with someone. I mean, we haven't really been on a real date or anything." Shelby looked straight out of the windshield biting her bottom lip.

"Ok… I'm glad you're dating someone? I don't know why you're telling me this like it is a big deal. I want you to be happy." Shelby looked at her and smiled but immediately looked away again.

"He's someone you know." She kept biting her bottom lip nervously. Rachel didn't know who it could possibly be. Everyone she knew was from school or some other class she took.

"Well, who is it?" Rachel looked at her expectantly.

"Will Schuester" She said it quickly, like ripping off a band aid. She looked at Rachel and saw she was smiling which confused her. Suddenly Rachel started laughing. "Why are you laughing? I wanted to know how you felt about me dating your Glee coach. I don't see the funny part. Rachel!"

Rachel tried to control herself. "I'm sorry, it's just." The laughing was making it hard for her to talk. "I was so worried and you just wanted to tell me you're going out with Mr. Schue. It's funny." She finally managed to stop laughing and keep a straight face. "I don't mind, by the way. I like Mr. Schue and he's a really good guy." Shelby gave a sigh of relief.

"Good, Ok. I'm really sorry I worried you. You really don't have to think about that, ever. You're not going to get rid of me that easily." Rachel chuckled and hugged her again.

"I should take you home. Get back in your seat." She kissed her hair and Rachel let her go. She pulled back into traffic.

"So, you and Mr. Schue? How did that happen?" Shelby didn't know how much to tell Rachel. She didn't think that making out in the couch of someone you just met gave her a good example.

"We met a few months ago when he came to discuss a Glee thing with me and then when I met you he wanted to talk to me, he was worried about you. So we talked and then after Regionals he asked me out." Shelby wasn't actually lying to her. She was just omitting certain bits of information.

"So you're going out with him today?" Shelby nodded. Rachel looked at her outfit and her hair. "Like that?"

Shelby looked at what she was wearing. She didn't think anything was wrong with it. A bit too businesslike but she might change her top or something. "I haven't really thought about it."

Rachel gave a shocked gasp. This was her first date with Mr. Schue, she had to look stunning. "You're not taking me home anymore. We'll go to your place and find something more suitable. I'll call my dads on the way to let them know I won't be home until dinner." Shelby gave her a look. She was her daughter, she wasn't the one supposed to be ordering her around. But they didn't really have that kind of relationship and Rachel was just trying to help.

"Fine." Shelby grumbled but a smile escaped from the side of her mouth.

When they got to her house Rachel went straight for her closet. Shelby dropped her keys and her briefcase and walked to the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink or a snack? I have popcorn."

"Sure!" Rachel's scream sounded muffled and Shelby wondered what she was doing. She put the popcorn in the microwave and served two glasses of coke. She walked to her room with the popcorn and the drinks and found Rachel on the ground of her closet going through her shoes. A black pencil skirt and a red, low cut, sleeveless, red shirt were on the bed. Soon, Rachel came out of the closet holding a pair of red pumps and placed them at the foot of the bed.

"There. We'll do something about the hair after you're dressed."

Shelby gave her the bowl of popcorn and her glass and went into the bathroom. "You can watch TV or something while I shower."

Rachel smiled and went to the living room to turn on the TV. She'd always thought that her mom would help her get ready for a date and not the other way around. But she really liked this, it was fun. She had some really nice clothes and shoes. Maybe they could go shopping sometime.

Shelby came out after her shower. It was kind of comical that her daughter was helping her get ready for her date. She put on the skirt and the shirt. She would put on the shoes when she was ready to leave. She looked at her watch; it was only 5:30. She had plenty of time to get ready. She walked out of her room and saw Rachel curled up on her couch. She could get used to spending her afternoons with her. Rachel heard her and turned her head.

"You look great!" She turned off the TV and pushed her back into her room. "I was thinking that you would look great with your hair lose, letting it fall in open curls." Rachel looked at her in anticipation. Shelby smiled and nodded.

"I can do my own hair. You can pick out my earrings if you like. There's a jewelry box on the dresser there." Shelby laughed at her eagerness and started to do her hair and makeup.

She was ready at 6:30 and drove Rachel home. She got back just before 7 and was retouching her makeup when the doorbell rang.

**

* * *

AN: I thought it would be better to put the date on another chapter. I'll try to write it and upload it soon. If you review maybe it will take less XD**


	14. Dinner and an Empty Orchestra

**AN: Here's the date and the aftermath of the date so it's just a bunch of fluff. Changed the rating to T just in case though I doubt anyone under 13 is reading this but if you are, I'm really sorry. ****Hope you enjoy this, R&R.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Dinner and an Empty Orchestra

Shelby checked herself a final time on the hallway mirror before opening the door. She smiled. Rachel was right, she looked good, even if she said so herself. She was ready for her first date in a long time, although she didn't really see it as a first date. She saw it more as a formalization of their relationship.

She opened the door. Will was stunned. She looked amazing. Her hair made her face look beautiful and that skirt with those heels looked really hot.

"Wow! You look, wow!" Shelby smiled and felt herself blushing.

_What is wrong with me lately? I have to stop blushing like a stupid schoolgirl. Get a hold of yourself Shelby. _"Thanks."

Will suddenly remembered the bouquet of flowers he was holding behind his back. "These are for you."

Shelby took them slightly amazed he'd bring flowers. They were gorgeous yellow and red lilies. "Thank you. They're beautiful, I love them. Do you want to come in while I put these in a vase?" He entered. He'd never actually been inside her house. It was nice. She walked to the kitchen to fill the vase with water and he followed her.

"You didn't have to do that but they are gorgeous. I'm glad you did." Will smiled and she gave him a quick peck. "Shall we go?" She walked out of her kitchen with the vase in her hand and placed it on the living room coffee table. It took him a while to snap out of his dreamy state and follow her out.

He drove to a French restaurant he had heard was good but not overly expensive. He parked in front and went to open her door but Shelby Corcoran wasn't the kind of woman who waited for a man to open her door so by the time he got there she was already out. He let her walk a few steps in front of him. Although if she asked he would deny it was to check out her outfit from behind, which was as good as the front. They were led to a table on the side of the restaurant. It was nice and intimate. They sat and checked the menu. Will was relieved to see that in fact it was cheaper than he expected.

"I heard you guys got another year. I told you it would be fine. How did that happen? You were so sure it was over." Will smiled. Sue had really come through for them.

"Sue Sylvester talked to Figgins and got him to give us another year."

Shelby cocked an eyebrow. "Sue Sylvester? The woman who was set to destroy you and Glee club?"

Will laughed at her description and her clear dislike of her. "Yeah, I was surprised too but I guess she's not as bad as I thought."

Shelby was still suspicious. People didn't change their minds just like that. But if what she did made Rachel and Will happy then here intentions were none of her business.

"But, let's not talk about Glee club tonight." He took her hand and rubbed the back with his thumb. "I want us to talk about us, no business talk. Is that ok?" Shelby nodded, entranced by the movement of his thumb. The waiter came and took their order and served the wine.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Shelby didn't really feel like talking at all but since he wanted to talk she had to ask.

He looked her in the eye with intensity. "You."

Shelby took a sip of wine. This was starting to feel too serious but she fought the urge to run away. He was worth it. She wanted this to be serious she just wasn't used to it. "What do you wanna know about me?"

"I don't know, everything. Where you grew up, how you like your coffee, actually I already know that one, what makes you smile…" Shelby smiled. He was really sweet and cute and perfect. She couldn't believe he wanted to go out with her. She knew she was amazing in many ways, a great singer, an awesome coach, but she also knew that her social skills were less than perfect and that sometimes she pushed people away. But Will never let her push him too far.

They had a nice meal. They talked about their childhoods, college. At some point Will told him about Terri and her fake pregnancy. Shelby couldn't believe how someone could do that to him. She talked about her New York days.

Will realized he had never actually heard her sing. He got an idea. She would resist, of course, but he could convince her. He ordered the check right after desert.

Shelby moved to get her purse when the check arrived. "Oh no! I invited you, I pay. No discussion." She gave him a Shelby Corcoran patented you're-taking-it-too-far look but she accepted.

He got up and held out his hand and pulled her up. "Would you come with me someplace else before I take you home?" He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked out to the car.

"Where are we going?"

He pinned her to the car and put his hands on her hips. He whispered in her ear. "It's a surprise, please?" He nuzzled her neck and then kissed her cheek.

Her ok was barely audible. He started to pull away but she took him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him in for a kiss. After a while she pushed him away playfully. "Let's go, I'm getting cold."

She asked him where they were going a few times in the car but he didn't answer. When they got there and saw the big "Karaoke" neon sign she laughed. "I'm not going in there."

"Oh come on Shelby!" He pouted. "Pleaaaaaase! I've never heard you sing and Rachel says you're amazing. Are you seriously gonna deny me the privilege of hearing you sing?" He rubbed her cheek with his index finger. "Please?"

She swatted his hand away even though she was enjoying it. "Fine! But don't think that you buttering me up like this is gonna get you anything you want every time." She got out of the car and slammed the door. He laughed and got out behind her.

They went in and sat at a table in the back. They ordered a couple of beers and Shelby wrote a song in a piece of paper and gave it to the waitress. "You're singing with me. I'm not going up there alone." Will opened his mouth in shock but, as he was about to say something, they called them and she pulled him to the stage.

She chose "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". She didn't really mean anything by it, it was the only decent duet they had.

Will started singing. He was pretty good too. His dance moves were horrible though, but he had her laughing for most of the song. When it ended everyone clapped loudly and they walked back to their table.

"Rachel was right, you are amazing."

Shelby laughed and kissed his cheek. "You're not so bad yourself."

After finishing their beer they decided to go. He drove her home and walked her to her door.

"I had a great time." Shelby looked at Will. He took the hand where she was holding her key and kissed her, pressing her against the door. The kiss was slow. Will kept one of her hands in his and his other hand on her waist. She had her other hand on his neck slightly tugging the hairs at the back. At some point she dropped her key and put her hand on the other side of his head, pulling him closer. He used his newly freed hand to trace her back from her hips to her shoulder.

"Wait, wait Will." He ignored her and peppered kissed from her ear, down her jaw and her neck. "Will, I have neighbors. Let me pick up the keys and we can get in."

He rested his head in her shoulder too steady his breathing and bent down to pick up her keys. She opened the door and they went in.

He attacked her mouth as soon as they were inside. She kicked off her shoes and pulled him to her bedroom. They fell to the bed with their lips still locked, his hands roaming her body. She started to unbutton his shirt and he stopped kissing her. He looked down at her, she looked so beautiful with her hair fanned around her face like that. But he had to make sure she was sure about this so he asked her. When she smiled and nodded he leaned down to kiss her again.

* * *

Shelby's alarm went off at 6 am. Shelby stretched to turn it off without opening her eyes. She felt Will's arm around her waist and his chest against her back. She groaned. She had to get up soon. She ran her fingernails along his forearm. She felt him stir behind her.

"Five more minutes." He said with a sleepy voice and pulled her closer. She smiled and turned around. He looked cuter in the morning. She pushed him to lie on his back and kissed his shoulder and then kissed across his chest to his other shoulder. After a while he opened his eyes.

"I could get used to waking up like this." he gave her a goofy grin and pinned her to the mattress on her back. "Good morning, beautiful." He gave her a deep, slow kiss.

He went back to lie on his back and she sprawled on his chest and started tracing a random pattern on his abs with her finger while he ran his fingers through her hair. "I told Rachel about us."

He had expected she'd tell her at some point so he wasn't really surprised. He was a little worried about her reaction but since Shelby hadn't said anything before he assumed it hadn't been that bad. Still Rachel had strong opinions about everything. "What did she say?"

Shelby felt him tense under her and smiled. She loved to make him squirm so she pretended to be too focused on her moving finger to answer. After a while she looked away from her finger and looked up at him. He was chewing on his lower lip nervously. "She was happy. She said you're a nice guy and that she wants me to be happy."

Will let go an involuntary sigh and Shelby got back to her pattern tracing on his stomach. "Do you think she'd come with me to New York when I take the kids for nationals? The whole event takes a week and I thought maybe we could stay an extra week after it's done." She turned around and rested her elbows on his chest and her face on her hands.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her. I don't know if she'd want to spend a week with Jesse though." She'd forgotten about Jesse. "And watching him win a national title might not be so nice either."

"But she's with Finn now so Jesse is not really a problem. And she could learn a lot, it could help you guys for next year."

Will smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're not worried that we might beat you next year."

She looked at him with fake disbelief. He turned her around and started tickling her "Fine! You win! There might be a small remote possibility that you might win next year's Regionals, especially if I start coaching Rachel personally. Happy?"

He leaned down to kiss her. "Very. So you're thinking of coaching Rachel?"

She pushed him off her. "I don't see why not. She could learn a lot and we'd get to spend time together. The implications of that in a stupid show choir competition are the least of my worries. I just want Rachel to reach her full potential." She got up and walked to the bathroom.

"I'm taking a shower; I have to be in school at 8." He heard the water start running and then heard her shout. "Are you coming?"

He got up and ran to the bathroom. Yeah, he was totally whipped but with her he didn't care.

**

* * *

AN: I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the last one, depending on how it behaves. Sometimes this thing gets out of control and there's nothing I can do about it. So this might be one of your last chances to tell me what you think about this story ;)**


	15. Dreams Do Come True

**AN: This is the final chapter. I hope you liked the story and feel free to comment after you're done. Thanks for reading and for all of your reviews, they really made me happy and motivated me to continue writing. **

**Did anyone watch the Tony Awards? I just watched a video of what Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison did. I loved how they showed Idina clapping at the end of their performance. Also Idina presented something and I think Kristin Chenoweth did too.**

**Anyway… shutting up now. Final disclaimer: don't own Glee, if I did Idina would never ever leave the show.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Dreams Do Come True

They had breakfast and took their time saying goodbye by the front door. "Am I seeing you today?" She shook her head and kissed him again. "I'm having dinner with Rachel to ask her about New York. I have to call her dads first to ask them for permission, I don't want her to get all excited before I make sure it's ok with them."

She opened the door and pushed him. He pulled her with him and kissed her. "You're going to make me late. I've never been late." He laughed.

"There's always a first time for everything." She gave him a serious look and he moved away from her. He walked her to her car and opened the door for her. She cocked an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before closing the door and waving goodbye.

Shelby smiled. He really was a nice guy. She drove to school and smiled to herself when she got there five minutes before 8. Just in time. She texted Rachel her dinner invitation and she said yes. She decided to call her dads during her lunch hour.

* * *

Will was walking down the hall with a huge smile on his face and humming the notes to "Don't go Breaking my Heart". He saw Rachel and Finn standing in front of Rachel's locker. "Goood morning guys."

Finn laughed at his happiness. "Got lucky last night Mr. Schue?"

Rachel turned and pretended to look for something in her locker. She was happy for them but she really didn't want to know about her mother's sex life. Will noticed how uncomfortable Rachel was.

"Can't a guy just be happy? Anyway, I have class. See you guys later during Glee club." He walked away still humming and Finn watched him amused.

"Who do you think he's going out with? Maybe he got back with Ms. Pillsbury." Rachel slammed the door to her locker and picked up her bag.

"I don't think so. Sometimes people are just happy. I have class." She walked away and left him standing there in shock. _What did I say now?_

* * *

"Rachel, can I talk to you in my office?" This was starting to get ridiculous. He had called her in here a lot lately, more than anyone else on Glee club. She got that she was kind of the leader but it was starting to get annoying. She flopped down on a chair, crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow in his direction.

He smiled. That was something Shelby did when she was annoyed. "I understand Shelby talked to you but I wanted to make sure you really were ok with us."

Rachel sighed and lost the annoyed look. She didn't want him to think this bothered her because it really didn't. "I'm glad you're with her, I really am Mr. Schue. Can you just lose the whole I-just-got-laid attitude? It's kind of creepy." She scrunched up her nose and he laughed.

"I will. I'm sorry, I totally get it. I'm just really happy with her, happier than I have been in a long time. And it's not just, you know…" She gave him a disgusted face. "Sorry. She just makes me really, really happy." She smiled.

"Are you in love with her?" He wasn't expecting this. He didn't really know how to answer that. He was falling for her in a very quick and unstoppable way. But he didn't know if saying something to Rachel about it would be good. She could tell Shelby and scare her off. "It's ok if you don't. I'm not going to tell her. I was just curious."

Will looked at her. "You promise not to say anything to her?" Rachel nodded. "It's kind of complicated to explain, but if I'm not, I think I will be very soon."

Rachel smiled and got up. Just as she was reaching for the doorknob she thought of adding something else so she turned. "Mr. Schue, I just want you to know that if you hurt her I will hunt you down and kill you." She gave him a sweet smile and walked out of his office.

* * *

Shelby was tossing the salad when the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to open the door. "Hi! I'm really glad you came."

Rachel walked in. "You look good with the apron." Shelby didn't know if she was being sarcastic. She wouldn't usually cook but she thought that a night in might be fun. She walked back to the kitchen with Rachel in tow.

"I made some salad and some tofu things I found on the supermarket. Can you help me set the table? The cutlery is in that drawer over there." Rachel smiled. People, apart from her dads, didn't really worry about having vegan food. By the time she was done arranging everything Shelby walked in with two plates.

They sat down and ate. "This is really good." Rachel poured some more dressing on her salad.

"I'm glad you like it." Shelby waited until she was done with her salad to talk.

"Rachel, I wanted to ask you something. You can say no if you don't want to and I already asked your dads for permission and they said yes so don't worry about that." Rachel raised an eyebrow and put down the fork.

"You know I'm going to New York for Nationals in a month, right?" Rachel nodded. She couldn't see where this was going. "Well, what I wanted to know is if you wanted to come with me and maybe stay a couple of weeks after that."

Rachel didn't quite know what to respond. She kept her eyes fixed on her plate. She would love to go to New York with her but, going to nationals with her and Vocal Adrenaline? There was the Jesse thing and some of them, including Jesse, egged her a few weeks ago. She didn't know if she could get over that. Besides, she didn't know how she would feel if they won.

Shelby looked at her as she considered her offer. She hadn't talked in some time and the silence was unnerving her. "The competition takes a week and you get to see a lot of teams from everywhere. You could help me with stuff there. It would be very educational. And don't worry about the kids, they're really nice once you get to know them and, since you're not longer their competition, they won't be mean. Some of them actually really admire you. They told me even before they knew you were my daughter."

Rachel looked up from her plate. She would learn a lot if she went, that way she would have an advantage if they got there next year. And she was with Finn now so Jesse wouldn't really be a problem. She was more worried about the other kids. She really doubted they would get along. But it was only for a week and then she would get to do other things with her mom.

"Can I think about it?" Shelby thought she might have come on too strong. She tended to push people and sometimes it wasn't that good. "Of course."

Shelby started to clear the table. "Do you want some desert? I made lime jello and we can watch Funny Girl."

Rachel smiled. "I love Funny Girl. I've always wanted to play Fanny Brice and I love Barbra." Shelby took the dishes to the kitchen and served the jello. When she got back Rachel was already on her couch. She gave her a plate and sat on the other end of the couch. The movie was already on the DVD player since she loved to watch it.

Rachel put her empty plate on the coffee table and sat back on the couch. She scooted closer to Shelby and rested her head on her shoulder. Shelby was surprised but she moved her arm to the back of the couch so Rachel was more comfortable.

"I love this movie. I really identify with her, especially being Jewish" Shelby pulled her closer. "Yeah, me too."

By the time the movie ended Rachel had fallen asleep with her head on Shelby's lap. Shelby was playing with a strand of her hair and hadn't really noticed she was asleep. She moved to reach the remote and Rachel groaned and scooted closer to her without waking up.

Shelby frowned. She wished she could have done this a long time ago. She could have tucked her in at night, read her a story o sang to her until she fell asleep. She brushed her hair away from her face. She looked so peaceful and young. She wished she didn't have to take her home but she did. It was getting late.

"Rach, sweetie, wake up. The movie is over. I have to take you home." She shook her shoulder lightly to wake her. Rachel blinked and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Do I have to go?" Shelby's heart leaped at that. She wanted to stay. Maybe she could redecorate her guest bedroom and Rachel could stay here sometimes. She'd have to talk to Mark and Ben, of course, but she didn't think that would be a problem. When she talked to them today they seemed to have accepted the fact that she was part of Rachel's life now and didn't really object to the whole New York thing.

"Yes you do. But we could talk to your dads about letting you stay here. We could redo the guest bedroom." Rachel smiled. She really liked spending time with her and they had a lot in common. She'd love to stay here. Rachel sat up and looked at her.

"I wanna go to New York with you." Shelby smiled.

"Really?" Rachel nodded. She didn't mind having to stand those people for a few days if it meant spending some time with her mom.

"Great!" Shelby hugged her and got off the couch. "I still have to take you home now." Rachel followed her out to the car.

Shelby spent the whole ride talking about what they could do in New York. Rachel smiled at her eagerness, she was really glad she'd said yes. She looked out the car window up at the sky and gave thanks for finally getting what she'd always dreamed of, her mom.

**

* * *

AN: Again, thanks for reading this. I'm probably doing a sequel about their trip to NYC. ****What do you think?**


End file.
